Review of the Levy Boards
A review of the agricultural and horticultural levy bodies was carried out in 2005 by Rosemary Radcliffe. The 5 levy boards covered by the review were:
- British Potato Council
- Horticultural Development Council
- Home Grown Cereals Authority
- Meat and Livestock Commission
- Milk Development Council
The review also examined the structure of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) which plays a key part in promoting and developing the red meat industry in Scotland and which currently carries out functions delegated from the Meat and Livestock Commission.
The recommendations in the review report were subject to formal consultation with the industry.
On 28 June 2006, the Environment and Rural Development Minister, Ross Finnie, announced a new structure for the agricultural and horticultural levy boards that will protect the interests of Scottish levy payers. The existing levy boards will be abolished. A Great Britain approach will be retained for the milk, potato and horticultural sectors, with a UK-wide approach for cereals. New sector-based companies in these areas - and in the English beef and lamb and the English and Welsh pork sectors - will be close to levy payers and answerable to an overarching Agricultural and Horticultural Levy Board (which will be a Non-Departmental Public Body).
Acknowledging its distinctiveness, separate arrangements will be put in place for the Scottish red meat sector. Details of the new red meat promotion body in Scotland have still to be formalised.
Ministers also agreed to take on board other comments received on a number of other issues raised in the Radcliffe Report:
- The development of a common framework of activities funded by levy drawing on the work undertaken by SectorCos as part of a Fresh Start exercise;
- The right of levy payers to trigger a vote on the abolition of a levy;
- The continuation of processors and dealer levies where they currently apply; and
- The merger of the general and promotional levies.
Work to implement the Radcliffe recommendations is ongoing, in liaison with other UK Departments and the industry. A public consultation, which can be viewed below, on the Levy Board UK Order 2007 began on 14 March 2007.
Links to further information on the Scottish Executive website
Links to information on the Defra website ( www.defra.gov.uk)