Chamber and committees

Since the vicarious liability provisions in the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 came into force on 1 January 2012 there have been no arrests, prosecutions or convictions of people for vicarious liability for relevant offences. Vicarious liability is not in itself an offence, but rather a land owner or manager may be held to be vicariously liable for relevant offences as set out in Section 18, Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). The relevant offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are those in:

Section 1(1), (5) or (5B)

Section 5(1) (a) or (b)

Section 15A (1)

These offences are in relation to the intentional or reckless killing, injuring of a wild bird or the damage to, or destruction of a nest or egg(s); the prohibition of certain methods of killing wild birds (e.g. by the use of traps or poisons); and the possession of certain prescribed pesticides.

Vicarious liability can be considered in relation to all relevant offences that are investigated or prosecuted. When any investigation for a relevant offence is ongoing, the possibility of an arrest or prosecution under the vicarious liability provisions will be considered.

Decisions on the form and scope of the review of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board have yet to be taken. An assurance can be given that the key participants (NFUS, SLaE and Unite the Union) will be given an opportunity to present their views.

Yes. It is standard practice for the principles behind the Estates Charter to be taken into account when managing the Scottish Ministers’ estate, alongside other Scottish Government policies and the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

<>Food Standards Agency Audits by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of local authorities’ food and feed enforcement services are ongoing and take place throughout the year. In Scotland, FSA typically carries out twelve audits every year. Audit plans and audit reports are available on the FSA website: http://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/auditandmonitoring/.

As a result of the horsemeat incident, the FSA plans to carry out two-day focussed food standards audits at a sample of three local authorities during April-June 2013. These will be used to further inform the evidence gathered during the desktop audit of 12 local authorities and previous audits that included all aspects of food law enforcement across all Scottish local authorities in previous years. This evidence will be used to determine any further action required to support effective food standards enforcement in Scotland.

Horsemeat incident

On the 23 January 2013 Scottish Ministers asked the FSA to work with local authorities to carry out focused food standards audits of approved processed meat manufacturers. Scotland was the first part of the UK to initiate this work, which is in addition to the actions set out in the FSA’s plan and the European Commission’s testing programme. Together with additional audits of standalone cold stores, the work entailed 226 inspections.

All the focused audits are now complete and no issues relating to horse DNA have been reported (as at 11 March).

As requested by Scottish Ministers on 23 January 2013, Foods Standards Agency Scotland asked Scottish local authorities to carry out focused food standards inspections at all approved premises producing processed meat products in Scotland. Local authorities report that there are a total of 201 such premises currently operating in Scotland.

All of the meat premises inspections are complete and no issues relating to horse DNA have been reported from the inspections. This programme was extended on 12 February 2013 to include cold stores (26 in total), so this makes 227 premises overall. All of the relevant cold stores visits have been completed to date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued advice on its website on the 10 February 2013 to public institutions (schools, prisons, hospitals, and the armed forces) and the businesses who supply them, including caterers. This advice:

Reminded public institutions, and the businesses who supply them, of their responsibility with respect to their own food contracts and procurement procedures; such establishments are expected to have rigorous procurement procedures in place, with reputable suppliers;

Requested that should any public institution have any concerns regarding the authenticity of their products, they should seek assurance from their supplier. Should the public body be unsatisfied with the assurance received then the appropriate action should be taken; and

Highlighted that, following the horsemeat incident, public institutions are also within the scope of the UK-wide authenticity sampling programme organised by the FSA and are part of the extensive testing regime the FSA has established with the food industry.

The Scottish Government expects the food industry, including retailers, wholesalers, food service companies, caterers and manufacturers, to co-operate with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authorities throughout the on-going horsemeat investigation. The food industry has agreed to a request from the FSA to test for the presence of horse meat in all their processed beef products.

Further, we expect the food industry, including retailers, to have rigorous procurement procedures in place, with reputable suppliers, and to ensure that the products they sell are safe for consumers and accurately labelled.

The initial phase of testing is almost complete and the vast majority (over 99%) of tests continue to show no horse DNA at or above the level of one percent.

The industry will continue to test for the presence of horse DNA in its beef products, reporting to the FSA, with test results being published on the FSA website at quarterly intervals. Any confirmed cases of gross contamination, greater than one percent horse meat, will be reported to the FSA immediately and published on the FSA website once the information has been received.

The Westminster Government consultation on this GB instrument may result in revocation of the Regulations as they apply in England but this would require agreement by both DEFRA and Department of Health Ministers. The Regulations would continue unchanged as they apply to Scotland (and Wales).

The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 legally require all white and brown flour produced in Great Britain to be fortified with four specific minerals and vitamins (i.e. calcium, iron, thiamine and niacin) at specified levels.

Since the majority of the current 56 mills in the UK are based in England, any change there is likely to have a direct effect on the other countries in the UK to whom they supply flour. Thus many bread and other flour based products on sale in Scotland may be affected by the outcome of the UK Government consultation and any subsequent actions.

The Scottish Government has no plans to remove or consult on the removal of the obligation to fortify flour. The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 set a legal requirement for all white and brown flour produced in Great Britain to be fortified with the four quoted minerals and vitamins. Calcium is added for fortification purposes while the remaining three nutrients are added to restore the levels to that which is lost during the flour milling process.