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Consultation on The Beef and Pig Carcase Classification (England) Regulations 2009

Dear Consultee

I am writing to inform you of the making of The Beef and Pig Carcase Classification Regulations 2009 (for England). The purpose of this consultation is to seek your views on the proposed enforcement of the Community scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcases and the reporting of prices thereof, and to invite responses to the various questions contained in the detailed consultation document.

The following documents may be found on Defra’s website at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/carcase/index.htm  

Proposal

The Beef and Pig Carcase Classification (England) Regulations 2009 will incorporate enforcement powers for the new EU carcase classification and price reporting legislation which has applied from 1 January 2009, and will revoke The Beef Carcase (Classification) (England) Regulations 2004 (SI 1317/2004) and The Pig Carcase (Grading) Regulations 1994 as they relate to England (SI  2155/1994 as amended). 

The new EU legislation is directly applicable and therefore the UK must adopt appropriate domestic implementing measures to enforce the provisions. New EU Commission implementing rules (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1249/2008) have been adopted (from 1 January 2009) incorporating the detailed rules governing the three sectors (beef, pig and sheep) into a single Regulation.  This followed the earlier consolidation of the three Council Regulations governing the classification and price reporting of beef, sheep and pig carcases into Council Regulation (EC) 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (‘Single CMO Regulation’). The key provisions in Regulation 1234/2007 as amended, are in particular Articles 42 and 43 point(m) and Annex V.

Beef and pig classification and deadweight price reporting continue to be compulsory for Member States, although classification remains optional for sheep. The latter sector is not covered by the proposed Regulations.

Most of the EU implementing regulation does not represent any significant change, except in the way beef carcasses may be presented (their ‘dressing specification’) for classification and pricing, as explained in the partial Impact Assessment. 

Expected impacts

The package includes a partial Impact Assessment for your comments.

Our understanding is that the new EU legislation on the implementation of the Community scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcases and the reporting of prices should have a limited impact on the industry in the UK as a whole.

Responses

We welcome any views and comments you may have on the proposals. However, there is limited scope to amend the draft Regulations because they merely implement Community law which is directly applicable.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 was the result of a programme of work during 2007 to consolidate 21 EU Regulations which set out the framework for the Common Market Organisation (CMO) into a single Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007).  The objective of the creation of this ‘Single CMO Regulation’ was to streamline and simplify the legal framework, and increase transparency for stakeholders, without changing the underlying policies. This proposal was the flagship of the Commission’s work in 2007 on CAP Simplification.

Responses should be received by Friday 13 November 2009. They should be sent either by e-mail: Beef.Mailbox@defra.gsi.gov.uk   or to the address above.

Consultation criteria

This consultation has been prepared in line with the Government code of practice on consultations. This can be found at:  www.berr.gov.uk/bre/

When this consultation ends, we intend to put a copy of the responses in the Defra library at Ergon House, London. This is so that the public can see them.  Also, members of the public may ask for a copy of responses under freedom of information legislation.

If you do not want your response – including your name, contact details and any other personal information – to be publicly available, please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation. Please note, if your computer automatically includes a confidentiality disclaimer, that will not count as a confidentiality request.

Please explain why you need to keep details confidential. We will take your reasons into account if someone asks for this information under freedom of information legislation. But, because of the law, we cannot promise that we will always be able to keep those details confidential. 

We will summarise all responses and place this summary on our website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/ This summary will include a list of names of organisations that responded but not people’s personal names, addresses or other contact details. 

To see consultation responses and summaries, please contact the library at:

Defra
Information Resource Centre
Lower Ground Floor
Ergon House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR

Telephone: 020-7238-6575
Email:  defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Please give the library 24 hours’ notice. There is a charge for photocopying and postage.

If you have any comments or complaints about the consultation process, please address them to Marjorie Addo, Defra’s Consultation Co-ordinator, Area 7C, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.

or email consultation.coordinator@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Thank you for your help in this matter. If you have any queries please contact us as above.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Roper
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

 

Page published: 18 September 2009