Step Change success criteria

Wednesday 25 January 2006

The Step Change is a cross-government initiative, led by the FSA. It aims to improve the co-ordination and delivery of local authority inspection of foods and products of animal origin at seaports and airports. Ministers agreed a number of success criteria, against which the delivery of the project would be assessed after its first year (to end March 2004).

District, Unitary and Port Health Authorities in England were notified of these criteria in a joint letter from the FSA's Chairman and the Defra Minister Lord Whitty in March 2004. A copy of the letter sent to Authorities in England can be found below. Similar letters were sent to Authorities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Progress against the Step Change evaluation criteria was reported to the FSA's Board in May 2004. The Board paper can be found below. Based on these results, Ministers have agreed that a Step Change improvement in imported food control enforcement had been achieved. The FSA's Chairman and the Defra Minister Lord Whitty wrote to Local and Port Health Authorities in June 2004 to commend them for their efforts in achieving this enhanced performance.

Summary reports of the action taken by local authorities in the co-ordination and delivery of local authority inspections on imported foodstuffs and animal products during 2003/04 and 2004/05 can be found below. The data contained in the reports has been drawn from questionnaires completed by Authorities.