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Minutes for 28 March 2006

Friday 16 June 2006

Held at MHS Headquarters, Foss House, York

Attendees

Chair:
Chrissie Dunn

MHS Board Members:
Valerie Howarth (Deputy Chair)
Jon Bell
Celia Bennett
Maureen Edmondson
Deryk Mead
Alick Simmons

MHS Board Adviser:
Fred Landeg, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Defra representing the Chief Veterinary Officer

Secretariat:
David Bramley, MHS

Officials:
Chris Lawson, MHS

Participating:
Kathryn Davies, MHS
Jane Downes, MHS
Mike Greaves, MHS

Officials Attending:
Helen Thirkle, MHS (Items 7 and 8)
Carol Wakefield, MHS (Items 7 and 8)
Kevin Waggott, MHS
David Hart, FSA
Jim Ross, FSA Northern Ireland
Julie Monk, FSA (Items 7 – 9)

Item 1: Introduction and Apologies
1. The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and Fred Landeg, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer (DCVO), representing the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) as adviser to the MHS Board. Apologies had been received from Alison Gleadle (Head of TSE Division, FSA), Kevin Goddard (Head of Business Development, MHS) and FSA Wales and Scotland.

2. The Chair reminded Board members that UNISON members, including some MHS staff, were holding a single day of strike action today. She noted MHS efforts had been focused on minimising the disruption to MHS's customers and thanked MHS staff for their preparations which had allowed this meeting to take place. The Chair reported that Mike Greaves would be present for only parts of the meeting because of his continuing involvement in directing contingency planning and operations.

3. The Chair reminded MHS Board members and adviser of their obligation to declare any relevant interests before agenda items were discussed. No interests were declared.

4. The Chair expressed her great sadness at the death of Mike Attenborough, Technical Director for the Meat and Livestock Commission. She said that he was highly respected, well-liked and would be greatly missed. The FSA and MHS had been represented at his funeral.

Item 2: Draft Minutes of the 3 November Meeting (Paper (06) 19)
5. The Secretary reported that he had received a suggested additional paragraph to the minutes from the CVO and he tabled an amendment to the minutes based on this paragraph. In response to a question, the Secretary confirmed that he believed that the amendment was an accurate representation of discussion at the previous meeting. Subject to this assurance, Members agreed the minutes as an accurate record of the January 2006 MHS Board meeting.

Item 3: Actions arising (Paper (06) 20)
6. All actions arising from the November meeting were complete except the action to circulate final signed copies of Service Level Agreements with Defra, British Cattle Movement Service and Rural Payments Agency to MHS Board members (para 13, January minutes) as these were not yet available. In response to a question from a Board member regarding communication arrangements around presentation of pre-August 1996 cattle (para 27, January minutes), the MHS Chief Executive clarified that the FSA would now be directly notified by the MHS of pre-August 1996 cattle presented for slaughter.

7. The MHS Chief Executive updated Board members on the revised consultation paper on future veterinary structure in the MHS (para 29, January minutes). He thanked Board members for their comments on the consultation paper and said that the paper had now been revised in light of these comments. He explained that the intention was to follow publication of the consultation document with meetings with contractors and MHS veterinary staff. The need to reassign resources for contingency planning to minimise disruption caused by industrial action had caused a delay in publication. The intention now was to publish the consultation document on 11 April accompanied by a presentation to MHS veterinary staff on the same day and a presentation to contractors on 18 April. In response, Board members welcomed the amendments and method of consultation.

8. In response to questions from Board members:

Board members would receive copies of the consultation document; Action: Secretariat
the MHS Chief Executive confirmed that the MHS audit of GB co-located coldstores had been completed in January and had not identified any major issues. This was also the case with Local Authority audit of standalone coldstores
Alick Simmons, MHS Board member and Veterinary Director for the FSA, confirmed that the Trichinella sampling carried out by the MHS was likely to be an integral part of supporting data, if the decision is made to apply for Trichinella free status for Great Britain

Item 4: MHS Board Chair's Report
9. The Chair reported that:

this would be the last MHS Board meeting for Jon Bell, FSA Chief Executive, before he left the FSA at the end of March. On behalf of the MHS Board, the Chair thanked him for his considerable contribution to MHS Board meetings and wished him well for the future. The Chair noted that John Harwood had been appointed as interim FSA Chief Executive and she looked forward to welcoming him to the next MHS Board meeting in May
Chris Lawson, Chief Executive of the MHS, would retire in January 2007 and an outline timetable had been agreed to recruit his successor. MHS Board members had been provided with the draft person specification and any comments could be made to the Secretary who would pass them on to the FSA Human Resources Division Action: MHS Board members and Secretary
the MHS Board had previously raised concerns regarding the lack of a link between the MHS Audit and Risk Committee and the MHS Board. A planned review of MHS and FSA audit committee arrangements had now been agreed in principle and would include consideration of links between the Audit Committees and Governing Boards of the FSA and MHS. The final Terms of Reference for the review were expected shortly. The Chair reported that MHS Board members would have the opportunity to contribute to the review and that the Terms of Reference would circulate to MHS Board members when available Action: Secretariat
she had observed an Open House meeting on 1 March in Wakefield. The Chair said that there had been a very good turnout and thought that this was an excellent platform for staff to discuss issues directly with the MHS Management Board
whilst it had proved challenging to meet with consumer representatives, she, accompanied by the MHS Chief Executive, had held a meeting with Sue Dibb, Senior Policy Adviser for the National Consumer Council on 23 March 2006. Sue Dibb had suggested that the MHS could engage more effectively with consumer organisations by updating them on key issues through a regular newsletter. The Chair had subsequently spoken to the MHS communications manager and he confirmed that this option was already under consideration. The Chair suggested that the appointment of a new FSA Communications Director provided an excellent opportunity to stress the importance and potential benefits of a joined up FSA - MHS communication strategy

In discussion:

it was reported that the Head of the FSA Consumer Branch was intending to visit MHS Headquarters to help explore how the FSA and MHS could work together more effectively on consumer engagement
consumer organisations face significant cost and time pressures so they need to prioritise the issues they tackle. This meant that it may be difficult to engage consumer organisations on issues, such as meat hygiene, where risk to consumers is perceived to be low or under effective control. Greater engagement may be achieved by working jointly with the FSA on wider-ranging issues
consideration should be given to engaging consumers directly, possibly through a survey, to gauge interest in meat issues and establish the best ways for engagement
the needs of the consumer need be clearly understood, which could help focus on consumer protection rather than industry compliance.

In addition:

as part of her commitment to visit each region at least once per year, the Chair had visited the Scotland Regional MHS Office on 7 March and a plant in Renfrewshire on 8 March
she had attended the Meat Training Council and Worshipful Butchers joint-awards luncheon and also the Provision Trade Federation annual dinner on 21 February 2006. Both events had provided useful opportunities to discuss issues with MHS stakeholders
she had been re-appointed as an a FSA Board member and Chair of the MHS Board to February 2008

Item 5: MHS Chief Executive's Report

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with Defra and its Agencies
10. The MHS Chief Executive said that the existing individual SLAs with Defra were being drawn into a single global document supported by detailed annexes. The global SLA had been agreed, but the annexes were still under consideration with Defra policy divisions. The MHS were pressing for more effective key performance indicators to be set so that MHS performance could be accurately and objectively assessed. The target date for completion was now Easter this year. Defra were also considering whether there would be a separate SLA for the Rural Payments Agency and British Cattle Movement Service or whether these would be more appropriately contained within the Defra SLA, because of the mix of delivery and policy elements.

Avian Influenza
11. The MHS Chief Executive explained that there were two aspects of Avian Influenza with which the MHS was concerned:
(i) disease control measures, where MHS was supporting Defra on contingency planning and would be represented in Operation Hawthorn to test Defra's current contingency plans for an outbreak of avian influenza; and
(ii) worker safety, where the MHS had worked with the Health and Safety Executive, Health Protection Agency and Defra to produce a document for MHS staff on their health and safety. This document had been published on the MHS Portal and referred to the procurement of protective equipment, which would be distributed if the need arised.

In discussion:

the MHS was working with the British Poultry Council, Defra and other parties to produce a common approach for plant and MHS staff
MHS staff were on the list of key workers and therefore one of the priority groups to receive the seasonal human flu vaccination
the DCVO emphasised that the purpose of vaccinating key workers was not to protect them from Avian Influenza but to immunise them from seasonal human flu to reduce the opportunity for reassortment of the seasonal human flu and avian influenza viruses. He reported that some poultry workers in Scotland had already been vaccinated and that the World Health Organisation risk assessment had reduced due to the approach of the end of the seasonal risk for an Avian Influenza outbreak in the UK

Accommodation
12. The MHS Chief Executive reported that refurbishment of Defra's Kings Pool site would begin shortly. To allow refurbishment to begin, around 150 staff from Kings Pool need to be relocated for two years to create a buffer space to allow refurbishment to take place whilst the building is still occupied. The MHS had received an offer from Defra for the MHS to relocate. The MHS Management Board were minded to accept the offer subject to the resolution of two issues: IT provision (which had now been resolved), and detached duty terms (which was the subject on ongoing discussions). The MHS Chief Executive assured Board members that the final decision would be based on business needs and undertook to keep Board members informed of any developments intersessionally.
Action: MHS Chief Executive

MHS Financial Position
13. The MHS Chief Executive reported that:

the MHS was
0.7m under budget at the end of February, and this position was likely to be maintained through to the end of the financial year
the final budget allocation for the MHS next year was expected shortly
future charging policy for enforcement of meat hygiene and SRM controls would be discussed at the FSA Board's meeting in April. He thanked MHS Finance staff for preparing information to help the FSA Board to consider the issue, and confirmed that the MHS had been fully involved in the preparation of the paper

Annual Report and Accounts (ARA)
14. The MHS Chief Executive reported that draft contributions from MHS departments for the ARA were due at the end of next week. The National Audit Office had performed a preliminary check and were satisfied with progress. The Treasury's faster closing initiative required the FSA to submit its accounts earlier than in previous years. The MHS needed earlier closure of its accounts because these would be a significant part of the FSA's accounts.

Removal of Ban on Beef Exports
15. The MHS Chief Executive reported that, following an EC vote, the export ban on beef exports would be lifted. A number of procedural steps had to be completed, and amendments to domestic legislation in France and Germany would be required. No formal date for lifting the ban had been agreed, however, there had been reports that this would happen at the end April or beginning of May. A training pack was being prepared for MHS staff and this would cover necessary amendments to the Specified Risk Material (SRM) controls to bring the UK into line with those in the rest of Europe.

Ombudsman Case
16. The MHS Chief Executive updated the Board on progress on a complaint being handled by the Ombudsman regarding the MHS not taking sufficiently seriously an allegation about illegal export of wild game. The MHS had received a response from the Ombudsman indicating that he was attempting to locate a person he believed to be able to shed further light on the case. The case dated back to 1999 and the Ombudsman had assured the MHS that he would report as soon as these attempts had concluded, one way or another.

Strike
17. The MHS Chief Executive reported that a national day of action was being held today by UNISON members, including MHS staff, in response to their dispute with the Government over proposals to change the Local Government Pension Scheme. In consultation with its Government customers, the MHS had established a list of priorities and drawn up a contingency plan to minimise disruption to plants. This plan would be kept under constant review and had helped Area Managers assign the resources available to them. The MHS Chief Executive reported that Ministers, the MHS and FSA Boards, and external stakeholders had been and would continue to be kept informed of developments. The MHS Chief Executive provided a brief overview of the effect on plants and said that the MHS Director of Operations would provide a more comprehensive report to the Board once the full picture had become clear (this is recorded at para 32).

Early indications were:

Scotland appeared to be worst affected with a greater relative proportion of plants affected by strike action
most poultry plants appeared to be operating. Poultry plants were often vertically integrated and were a priority to keep running for animal welfare reasons
no Older Cattle Disposal Scheme plants were operating; these were lowest priority

18. The MHS Chief Executive reported that the MHS had been targeted for a five-day strike by UNISON from 3 April to 7 April 2006. The targeting of the MHS was of serious concern and the length of action posed an even greater challenge to the industry and MHS. Whilst the staff striking today would lose the equivalent of a day's pay, UNISON had indicated they would reimburse staff the equivalent of full pay over the five-day period and were encouraging members not to undertake overtime on the weekend after the strike. The length of the strike would create much greater risks to animal welfare on farm and could affect the future of some plants, many of whom were operating on small margins. In turn, this could affect the job security of MHS staff, should any plants close. The strike was unlikely to affect supermarket supplies as these could be replaced by imported meat.

19. In discussion:

around 900 MHS staff were UNISON members, the bulk of whom were meat inspectors
the reason the MHS had been targeted for this period of strike action may have been because a relatively small number of staff striking could have a relatively large impact
there was a significant issue with communications resources as the MHS had only one communications officer who dealt with internal and external communications. Additional resource was being sought from the FSA in order to cope with an increased media, stakeholder and staff demand for information
the MHS Board offered its full support to the MHS in mitigating the effects of the strike

Item 6: Update on the Over-Thirty Month Implementation Review Group (IRG)
20. The Chair reminded Board members that an OTM testing Implementation Review Group was set up to oversee implementation of the BSE testing regime for its first twelve months of operation; and that Celia Bennett represented the MHS Board on the IRG.

21. The Chair invited Celia Bennett to provide an update on the IRG's work. She said no ineligible animals had escaped plant operator and MHS checks, but the number of pre-August 1996 animals presented for slaughter remained a major concern. The present legal standpoint regarding how to deal with these animals, or OTM animals presented to non-OTM approved plants, was different in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Legal advice was awaited to provide a definitive view on whether seizing and destroying animals wrongly presented constituted disproportionate action and was therefore a breach of Human Rights legislation. This places MHS staff in a difficult position and the MHS Board agreed that this issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

In discussion:

initiatives are ongoing to reinforce to producers the requirement to present animals correctly
formal reporting of OTM data to Board members would now occur on a four-weekly basis - any breaches or exceptions to the system would be reported immediately
the IRG had considered an issue with seals on vehicles being broken without MHS supervision. This requires rigorous and time consuming checks by MHS staff to verify the contents, which also causes disruption to the plant. The legal position of drivers had been clarified and the MHS had written to the plants involved to suggest ways to prevent the breakage of seals
the Interim Report from the Independent auditors, DNV, appeared positive and stated that 'in general all the facilities have demonstrated robust controls in accordance with the requirements for allowing OTM animals to be slaughtered for human consumption'
pre-August 96 animals imported into GB and Northern Ireland and subsequently presented for slaughter can enter the food chain

22. The MHS Chief Executive updated the MHS Board on the latest GB position regarding the slaughter of OTM animals for human consumption:

42 plants had been approved
60,000 OTM animals had been slaughtered in total and over 4,000 OTM animals were processed last week
there had been no positive tests, and 32 'no' tests from a total of 60,000 samples

Item 7: Assessment of MHS Performance against Targets for 2005/06 (Paper (06) 21)
23. Kathryn Davies, Director of Corporate Services, introduced this paper.

In discussion:

reasons for changes to the performance data collected from 1 January 2006 included stopping collecting data that was not now relevant following implementation of the new Hygiene Regulations and Over-Thirty Month Rule Change
the current Corporate Performance Report was very detailed and it was not easy to identify if the MHS was underperforming against any of its targets. A simplified format, as proposed under the balanced scorecard approach for 2006/07 [see Item 8], would provide a more effective basis for the MHS Board to consider MHS performance
it would be possible to collect data on turnover of contracted Official Veterinarians but this data could depend more on the way the contractor chooses to deliver service to the MHS rather than factors within the direct control of the MHS
very low numbers of SRM breaches are now identified in imported carcase meat (indicator 1.19) and the continuation of this work is under review by the FSA
further resource had been committed to improving Health and Safety arrangements
a Board member expressed concern about the recorded lack of response to the MHS Health and Safety Unit, so far, regarding two accidents that occurred in the South and West Region, which was shown in the table on page 29 of the report
the new managing attendance policy appears to have had an effect on helping staff to return to work and reducing the average number of working days absence per year to 9 days in 2005 from 13 in 2004. In addition, the percentage of absence due to long-term sick leave has reduced
in response to a point from a Board member, the MHS Chief Executive said that significant work had been undertaken recently to improve guidance to staff on additional charges to help ensure a fair and reasonable approach. Recent data indicates a significant reduction both in the number of appeals and the proportion upheld in favour of the plant
the Chair noted that the number of FSA audits recorded under Aim 1 (page 9 of the report) did not include Scotland

24. The MHS Board noted progress by the MHS towards achieving its targets for 2005/06. It agreed, based on the further information provided to it at this meeting, to the proposal that the performance of the indicators affected by H123 and OTM rule change be assessed on nine months data (noting that the change to the OTM rule took place on 7 November 2005).

Item 8: MHS Corporate Business Plan, Objectives and Targets for 2006/07 (Paper (06) 22)
25. Kathryn Davies, Director of Corporate Services, introduced this paper.

In discussion:

six responses had been received in response to the consultation on the performance management framework
the reference to consumers in the MHS purpose was welcomed. Consideration should be given to also including references to consumers in the corporate objectives, and particularly in corporate objective 2
the MHS Board considered that the vision should be amended to include a reference to consumers and to delete the reference to 'first choice provider of independent services'. The FSA Chief Executive said that he had a suggestion for amending the vision which he would share with MHS Chief Executive after the meeting Action: FSA Chief Executive and MHS Chief Executive
an exception report would be provided for all performance indicators and targets designated red or amber. This would include explanation for the designation and the proposed action to return to the desired level of performance

Consideration should be given to:

ensuring the document was written in plain English and removing jargon as well as abbreviations. This would allow the glossary to be removed
including an indicator on staff sickness in the People quadrant
including an indicator on consumer assurance in the Customers and Stakeholders quadrant
including some key objectives, which could be delivered through the MHS's role as a purchaser of services
including a clear definition of consumer and customer
providing further guidance on exception reporting
referring, in objective 1, to hygiene standards, animal welfare and disease surveillance
recognising, in objective 3, that it is the operators' job to embed regulations and the MHS's job to ensure that they were embedded

The MHS Board approved the 2006/07 Corporate Plan subject to seeing a further iteration of the Plan reflecting discussion at the meeting.
Action: Kathryn Davies

Item 9: Audit of MHS (Papers (06) 23 & 24)
26. The Chair invited Julie Monk, FSA Head of Enforcement Division, to the table and invited Jane Downes, MHS Veterinary and Technical Director, and Julie Monk to introduce papers on internal and external audit of MHS respectively.

In discussion:

MHS Board members welcomed the approach taken by the MHS Verification and Audit unit, and agreed that FSA and MHS audit should be complementary and avoid duplication
regarding external audit of the MHS, concern was expressed at the absence of figures for audit in Scotland, in light of the Great Britain-wide responsibilities of the MHS
in response to an action requested in the paper on external audit, MHS Board members agreed that a review of the MHS external audit programme for 2006/07 was outside the scope of MHS Board
whilst it was also outside the scope of the MHS Board, FSA external audit carried out in Northern Ireland should be consistent with that of the MHS in Great Britain

27. The Chair summarised discussions and said that the MHS Board welcomed the MHS and FSA's commitment to work together on audit. Regarding the request for a review of the MHS external audit programme 2006/07 and the concerns expressed by the MHS Board regarding the apparent lack of consistency of approach to MHS external audit across GB, the Chair stated she would share these concerns with the FSA Chair, Deputy Chair, Chair of the FSA Audit Committee and the FSA Director of Enforcement.
Action: MHS Chair

Item 10: Benchmarking with the FSA (Paper (06) 25)
28. Kathryn Davies, Director of Corporate Services, introduced this paper. She said that, whilst there were major differences between the two organisations, the benchmarking exercise had revealed some interesting comparisons. These included significant differences in unit costs for finance, IT, HR, training and accommodation. The MHS was looking for other more similar comparators.

29. In discussion,

benchmarking can provide valuable data, which should be used as a guide to performance
the FSA and MHS were not considered suitable for comparison and a benchmarking against a more suitable comparator should be undertaken
it may be helpful to look to other European comparators. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) could be a suitable comparator Action: Kathryn Davies

Item 11: Developing a new Strategic Plan for the MHS for 2006 - 2010
30. Kathryn Davies, Director of Corporate Services, introduced this paper.

In discussion:

the strategy is designed to be in place until 2010 to enable MHS strategic planning to synchronise with the FSA strategic planning cycle from 2010
it may be helpful to consult consumers directly
the strategy will need to be approved by the FSA Board and this will need to included in the timetable Action: Kathryn Davies

The MHS Board agreed the proposed process and timetable for developing a new strategic plan for the MHS for the period 2006 - 2010.

Item 12: Any Other Business

Effect of Industrial Action on MHS Operations
31. Mike Greaves, MHS Director of Operations, reported that so far from a total of 380 red and white meat slaughterhouses

207 were operating normally
22 were operating with conditions (for example, reduced line speed)
84 did not normally operate on a Tuesday
28 were not operating due to a plant management decision
39 were not operating due to lack of MHS staff (2 poultry plants were not operating)

From 253 cutting plants:

237 were operating normally
9 did not normally operate on a Tuesday
7 were not operating due to a plant management decision
Zero were not operating due to lack of MHS staff

From a total of 1563 staff:

638 were working normally
596 were taking strike action
90 were on annual leave (which had been approved prior to notification of industrial action)
218 were absent due to sickness absence, special leave, maternity leave etc
21 staff had not yet started work and therefore their status could not be confirmed

There had been no reports of any problems with staff crossing picket lines, intimidation at work or animal welfare problems.

All available MHS staff had been redeployed if their base plants were not working with only one exception, which was largely due to geographical constraints.

Date of next meeting
32. The next MHS Board meeting will be held on 4 May 2006 in York.

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Minutes for 28 March 2006

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