NEWS RELEASE
Date: 19 September 2007
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New Levy Board to be based at Stoneleigh from April 2009
The new agricultural and horticultural levy board, and its sector companies, will be located in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire from April 2009, Defra and Devolved Administration Ministers announced today.
It was also announced that the new board’s name will be the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
Minister for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health, Jeff Rooker, said:
“I am happy to endorse the decisions of John Bridge, and his board, on the proposed location of the levy board and the six sector companies together on one site in Stoneleigh from 2009. This is a radical decision but one that will result in a more efficient and flexible organisation that can provide the services that meet the needs of levy payers now and in the future.“
“The move to Stoneleigh will bring benefits from having all the sector companies together on one site and will result in significant savings so that the new levy board and its companies can spend more of their funds helping levy payers.”
John Bridge, Chair-designate of the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said:
“Co-location at Stoneleigh provides an excellent opportunity to improve cooperation and collaboration between all the sectors. Stoneleigh represents the ideal location as it will provide a fresh start for the new organisation on a site which is fast becoming a centre for rural excellence. This, alongside the restructuring of the levy board and its sector companies, not only meet the needs of levy payers now but remain flexible enough to adapt to the needs and challenges of the future. This will mean a real step change in the quality of service delivery to levy payers”.
The business case supporting this decision is also published today. Building on the work of the independent reviewer Rosemary Radcliffe in 2005, this takes into account the results of the “Fresh Start” exercise last year and will deliver long term savings which will offset the short term set-up costs.
The business case can be viewed in full at: www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/levy-bodies/index.htm
Notes to editors
1. On 28 June 2006, Jeff Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health, together with Devolved Administration Ministers, announced that the five levy bodies (the British Potato Council, the Meat and Livestock Commission, the Milk Development Council, the Horticultural Development Council and the Home Grown Cereals Authority) should be radically restructured and replaced by one statutory levy board with six sector companies on 1 April 2008.
2. The secondary legislation to establish AHDB as a Non-Departmental Public Body will be made later this year under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Public consultation on the draft legislation took place in March 2007. The six sector companies will be companies limited by guarantee and will be wholly owned subsidiaries of AHDB. The sectors represented will be: cereals and oilseeds, horticulture, milk, potatoes, English beef and lamb and English pigs.
3. For further information about the reform of the existing levy boards please see the following link: www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/levy-bodies/index.htm
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Page published: 19 September 2007