Plant health: Responsibility and cost sharing study
In a joint initiative with industry and other Government partners, Imperial College Consultants Limited have been asked to carry out a study into the risks associated with trade in plants, the costs associated with assessing and managing these risks and mechanisms through which these could be shared. The findings from this study will be used to help facilitate the development of a joint industry/government strategy on plant health responsibility and cost sharing.
The study, which is being co-funded by Defra, the Scottish Executive and Rural Affairs Department, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Nation Farmer's Union, the NFU Scotland, the Royal Horticultural Society, the British Potato Council, the Horticultural Development Council and the Horticultural Trades Association is due to be completed by the end of June. Its key aims are to identify and evaluate options for:
- the sharing of the burdens and costs of assessing the quarantine plant health risks associated with trade in plants and plant products;
- the sharing of the burdens and costs of preventing and minimising outbreaks of quarantine plant pests and pathogens and their impact on individual businesses and the environment.
The study will not make any recommendation and does not entail any commitment on either Government or the industry bodies involved to follow a particular route. Its purpose is to provide an evidence base against which future policy can be considered.
As part of the study Imperial College Consultants will be seeking views from both organisations and individuals on a range of issues concerning plant health quarantine controls. If you would like to contribute views to the study, register your interest with Ms Yvonne Tatchley at y.tachley@imperial.ac.uk, ( IC Consultants Ltd, 58 Prince's Gate, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2PG- fax 020 7594 6566).