EU regulation 882/2004 on official controls consultation

The Food Standards Agency, together with colleagues in Defra and the devolved Agriculture Departments, is seeking your views on the draft European Commission guidelines on criteria for conducting audits of competent authorities as required by EU Regulation 882/2004 on official controls.

The underpinning aim of the EU Regulation, including the audit requirement, is to ensure that the functions of the competent authorities are being discharged effectively and provide safeguards to consumers. Your views are also sought on the associated draft initial Public Sector Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA).

The Commission is working to a tight timetable on this and hopes to adopt its guidelines at a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in mid-September.

Background

We wrote to stakeholders on 28 June 2005 highlighting that the European Commission is developing guidelines on criteria for the conduct of audits of competent authorities and outlining the main elements that this would cover. We are grateful for the many useful comments that we received and these will help inform the UK position. Our June 2005 stakeholder letter said, it was expected that the Commission would adopt its guidelines at the July SCoFCAH meeting. However, the Commission was aware that Member States had had little time to consider the guidelines or to consult on them. In view of this, the document did not feature on the July agenda and, instead, it is expected to be presented to the September meeting of the Committee.

Draft Commission guidelines

The Commission has now issued a draft of the guidelines that we are able to circulate to stakeholders for their views and this is attached below. Please note that this a working document. It may not necessarily represent the views of the Commission and the document that is presented to the SCoFCAH may differ.

The requirement for competent authorities to be audited is at Article 4(6) of Regulation 882/2004 and Article 43(1) provides the basis for the Commission to draw up guidelines on audit criteria that Member States must take account of. It has now been clarified that the guidelines are to take the form of an EC Decision rather than an EC Recommendation. The aim of the guidelines is to provide general principles to be taken account of rather than prescriptive requirements.

Your views on any aspect of the draft guidelines are welcome but, as before, we would particularly value comments on the following issues:

• Systematic approach - Audits should measure compliance with planned arrangements. They should also assess the effectiveness of implementation of planned arrangements and whether the arrangements are suitable to achieve stated objectives. Reporting should be balanced such that it includes positive findings as well as areas for improvement and best practice should be identified and disseminated. Do you agree with these principles?
• Risk based approach/five year audit cycle - A risk based approach is proposed but it is also recommended that all competent authorities be audited across all their activities within a five year period. We are concerned that this is inconsistent with a risk-based approach and with the stated aim that the guidelines are non-prescriptive. We believe that it would be more appropriate to suggest that Member States take account of the overall picture of enforcement activity of all relevant competent authorities and the control activities that they cover in developing a risk-based audit programme. The approach should be proportionate and should cater for the diversity of audit systems and approaches adopted in the different Member States. We would, however, be interested in your views on this point.
• On-site audit activities ('reality checks') – It is recommended that assessments of the quality and consistency of official controls should include on-site audit activities i.e. checks at feed and food premises etc ('reality checks'). Any decision to incorporate such checks in an audit must be taken on balance against the potential benefit and must be risk-based and proportionate. Do you agree?
• Transparency – In order to demonstrate transparency of the audit process, it is recommended that documented procedures should be followed. Management and implementation of the audit process should be transparent to all relevant stakeholders. It is recommended that final audit reports, action plans and follow up reports are published Your views on these proposal would also be appreciated. What are your views?

Draft initial Public Sector RIA

We are also seeking views on an initial Public Sector RIA. The purpose of this is to assess and record the likely costs and benefits of the measures provided in the guidelines. We would welcome your comments on any aspect of the draft. In particular, however, we would be grateful for any information which will help us to assess the potential financial impact of auditing all UK enforcement authorities across all their activities within a five year period.

Enquiries

General enquiries relating to the contents of this consultation should be addressed to the above contact details.

Any enquires specifically relating to existing audit functions should be directed as follows:

England: Alison Gleadle
Tel: 020 7276 8444
Email: alison.gleadle@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Scotland: Marion McArthur
Tel: 01224 285122
Email: Marion.McArthur@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Wales: Jane Davies
Tel: 029 2067 8901
Email: jane.davies@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Northern Ireland: Michael Jackson
Tel: 028 9041 7709
Email: michael.jackson@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Consultation feedback questionnaire (Word)

Consultation feedback questionnaire (pdf)

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Data protection form (Word)

Data protection form (pdf)

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk