The call comes following evidence gathered for the Business Focus on Enforcement initiative, in which the NFU was one of three trade associations and business representative groups selected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to lead a review of red-tape.
The NFU report was published BY BIS today. The NFU said it was vital that Defra acted on the report’s evidence and findings as soon as possible.
NFU better regulation adviser Lee Osborne said: “This review has given us the opportunity to carry out a study and gather evidence from an industry perspective for the first time to identify the impact on livestock farmers of current enforcement practices, in particular examining the potential for duplication and overlap between national and local regulators. We have been able to inform Ministers and regulators of our key findings during a cross-Whitehall committee. During this session the evidence was well received with considerable sympathy from ministers – but we now need to see a commitment from Government for change.
“We will use the evidence gathered during this initiative to share our concerns regarding inspections with the new Government. While we realise that time left during this parliament doesn’t allow for any radical change, given the effort and time put into this work the NFU and its membersexpect to see a full response from Defra post-election. We need to see continued commitments by Defra and ministers to reduce the burden on compliant farmers and action taken to improve both the targeting and co-ordination of inspections so that duplication and overlap is reduced.”
Some of the findings in the report include:
Farmers being subject to visits from different regulators to gather the same data which can mean additional time and cost for farmers;
The frequency of visits can vary with some farmers being subject to multiple inspections from a number of regulators in a short period of time;
A lack of expertise and knowledge on the part of some inspectors can result in a lack of trust between the inspector and the farmer and undermine the inspection process;
It is not always clear to the regulated business the purpose of the inspection and why they had been selected for a visit;
Improved communication and transparency around inspections would increase understanding and ensure a better experience for the farm business as well as the regulator.
Find out more here.