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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF Present: Dr J Hendron (Chairman) Apologies: Mrs P Armitage Dr Hendron took the Chair at 3:00 pm. Private Session 1. Chairman's Opening Remarks i. The Chairman welcomed Mr William Long, who recently joined the Committee staff. On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked staff member Ms Lesley Dempster, who is leaving to join the Committee on Procedures. ii. The Chairman drew members' attention to the document 'Response to Devolution', which is a review by the Civil Service of its relationship with the Assembly since devolution. Members will receive a copy of the document. iii. The Chairman expressed his regret that he would not be able to take his place on the interview panel for the specialist adviser post to the child protection inquiry, scheduled for Monday, 08 July 2002 in Parliament Buildings. iv. The Chairman advised members of the emphasis by the Speaker that facilities and expertise are available to any Committee wishing to take forward its own Bill through the Assembly. Agreed: The Clerk will arrange for the Principal Clerk of Bills to brief the Committee on the handling of Committee Bills in the first week of the Autumn Session. v. In relation to concerns raised by Committees about communication with the
media, the Speaker has suggested a meeting in September 2002 between senior
media correspondents and the Committee Chairpersons, to establish ways of ensuring
improved coverage of Committee work. 2. Minutes of Proceedings The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, 26 June 2002 were agreed. i. The Clerk will issue interview packs to the panel members for the special adviser post to the child protection inquiry later in the week. The Clerk will meet with the panel for a briefing session before the interviews, which will take place on Monday, 08 July 2002 in Room 106, Parliament Buildings. ii. The Committee considered the Minister's response to the Speaker in relation to the arrangements for the announcement of key Departmental policy statements by the Executive and Minister. Members noted a commitment by the Minister to make a statement to the Assembly when final decisions on the acute hospitals issue are known. However, while acknowledging that there is no obligation on Ministers to announce formally major policy issues, the Committee felt strongly that the publication of a White Paper on the future of local hospital services in Northern Ireland warranted a Ministerial Statement to the Assembly. Agreed: The Chairman will write to the Minister expressing the Committee's disappointment that she had not made a Ministerial Statement on the document 'Developing Better Services - Modernising Hospitals and Reforming Structures'. He will also question the non-inclusion of the Committee on the list of invitees, which included the HSS Chief Executives, to the briefing by Senior Departmental Officials two days in advance of the publication of the paper. The letter will also highlight the Committee's disappointment that an invitation
had not been extended to members to attend the Minister's press conference announcing
details of the new Regional Cancer Centre. Members made the point that the Committee
had conducted a lengthy inquiry into the delivery of cancer services and had
applied considerable pressure to secure capital funding for the Centre, which
was the principal recommendation of the Report. 4. Subordinate Legislation i. Fire Services (Appointments and Promotion) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 Departmental Official: Mr Leslie Sloan Mr Sloan explained that the Fire Authority Board was keen to proceed to public
advertisement, shortlisting and interviewing as soon as possible, to fill the
vacant post substantively. He advised that if the post had to be advertised
in a second tranche, it would mean substantial time without a Chief Fire Officer
in post, which the Board would want to avoid. ii. Statutory Rule No. 206/02 - Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 The Committee noted a response from the Department indicating that, in light
of the concerns raised during the consultation process on the proposed increase
to the student pre-registration fee, the Society reduced the fee from £300
to £100. That the Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee has considered: Statutory Rule No. 206/02 - Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and, subject to the Examiner of Statutory Rules being satisfied as to its technical effectiveness, has no objection to the Rule. iii. Statutory Rule No. 219/02 - Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 Question put and agreed to: That the Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee has considered: Statutory Rule No. 219/02 - Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and, subject to the Examiner of Statutory Rules being satisfied as to its technical effectiveness, has no objection to the Rule. [3.40 pm] 5. Presentation by the NI Food Standards Agency Agency Officials: Mr Morris McAllister, Director The Officials spoke to the briefing paper on the role and functions of the Food Standards Agency: The main points covered are as follows: The Agency is a non-ministerial UK Government Department, run by an independent Board, and accountable through Health Ministers to Westminster and the Assembly. It was set up in the wake of a number of high profile food scares in the UK such as the E.coli and Salmonella outbreaks. The Agency's policy is to protect the health and the interests of the consumer in relation to food. Its guiding policy is to put the consumer first, to be open and accessible and to be an independent voice. Successes to date include the introduction of a local authority enforcement framework; the introduction of 19 food safety regulations; butchers' licensing regulations; tiered testing of scallops for residues and the establishment of a shellfish safety industry forum; consumer attitudes surveys; and a salmonella in mushrooms investigation. The Agency is responsible for developing policy and proposing legislation
(which is ultimately made by the Department of HSS&PS); dealing with food
alerts and hazards; making emergency orders; standard setting and monitoring
and auditing and monitoring the enforcement authorities; and providing policy
and scientific advice to Ministers, the Assembly and general public. It can
publish advice to Ministers and has powers to enter premises to collect information
on, or samples of, food. The Agency takes part in negotiations with other EU Member States in relation to European food law and is responsible for implementing this legislation in the UK. In relation to recent concerns raised about imports from Third Countries outside the EC, the Officials explained that considerable resources are devoted to work of the Border Inspection Post in Belfast, from both the Department of Agriculture and the Port Health Authority. There are, however, recognised problems in terms of staff numbers and the legislative powers of the officers. These issues are currently being examined with a view to enhancing the arrangements, which will help to tighten standards. The Food and Veterinary Office of the European Union, based in Dublin, investigates the control measures employed by all the EU Member States, to ensure that consistent standards are being applied throughout the Union. They also have a responsibility to check on standards in Third Countries, which was how the problem of contaminated chicken being imported from China was recently identified and remedied. The Agency works closely with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which
is also an enforcement body, as well as the Food Safety Promotion Board, to
ensure that the roles are not overlapping and to make the best use of scarce
resources. The Food Safety Promotion Board has been very helpful in providing
resources for the Food Hygiene Campaign. The Officials emphasized that food
hazards do not recognize borders, which highlights the importance of working
with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland on food safety, for the mutual
benefit of both parts of the island. Administration is kept to a minimum and
the level of co-operation between North and South is very good, to ensure standards
are raised to the highest level. In relation to the enforcement of food standards, considerable resources are, and will continue to be, devoted to training environmental health officers (EHOs) in relation to food safety and science issues. The Agency is committed to working with the environmental health profession to enhance the image of the profession, particularly among school children. The Agency's EHOs meet regularly with the Chief EHO's Group, the Principal EHOs and the District Council staff, who are responsible for delivering the service. The key issues cover new legislation, auditing and monitoring, with a view to raising standards in the industry and educating the public on basic food hygiene messages. Although the Agency is complemented for 21 staff, it has only 15 currently in post. It is hoped that the vacancies will be filled by the end of the year. The annual budget is £1.46m, which is a modest percentage of the £150m UK-wide Agency budget. As the Agency expands to its full complement and takes on its full range of responsibilities, it hopes to meet the additional pressures through increased funding. [4.30 pm] 6. Executive Position Report - Draft Response iii. Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Department to seek clarification on how the £3m recently announced for cardiac surgery is to be spent and how many operations will be funded. iv. Agreed: The Clerk will prepare a draft response to the Programme
for Government proposals, which will be copied to members for comments, in advance
of clearance by the Chairman for issue to OFMDFM. 7. AOB i. Agreed: In relation to reported problems with the establishment of the Local Health and Social Care Groups, the Clerk will write to seek the views of interested parties within primary care, including the BMA (NI) General Practitioners' Committee. Based on the responses received, the Chairman will invite the Minister to address the concerns raised and explain what steps are being taken to facilitate the transition to the new arrangements. ii. Agreed: The Clerk will arrange an informal Committee meeting with Love for Life, which is a relationship and sex education provider. iii. Agreed: The Committee will defer consideration of a letter of invitation from the Committee for Employment and Learning to comment on the Employment Bill until the Autumn Session. iv. Agreed: The Chairman will facilitate the hosting of an informal dinner on Tuesday, 17 September in the Private Members Dining Room by the Chairman of the NI Council BMA, Mr Maurice Dunlop, with BMA Craft Committee Chairs, to which the Committee is invited. v. The Clerk advised that the next meeting of the Committee in September will cover the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Bill, the Committee Business Programme, and a briefing by Research Services on mechanisms to facilitate the Committee's scrutiny of the Departmental Budget. An additional informal meeting will be scheduled for the first week in September for Research Services to brief the Committee on the papers commissioned on Health Service structures and waiting lists. vi. Agreed: Following concerns raised by a member about the high number of instances where Fire Stations have been unable to attend fires, or where appliances in attendance have been manned below the minimum standard, the Clerk will write to the Department for an update on its strategy to increase staffing numbers in the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade. vii. Agreed: Following concerns raised by a member about the severe shortages of speech therapists in Northern Ireland, exacerbated by the inducements being offered to newly qualified professionals to work in the Republic of Ireland and Britain, the Clerk will write to ask the Department what measure it intends to take to address the problem through its workforce plan. viii. Agreed: The Chairman will approve the draft minutes of today's
meeting, on behalf of the Committee, for publication on the Internet, in advance
of the Autumn Session. The next meeting will be at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, 04 September 2002 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings. The meeting ended at 4.50 pm. DR J HENDRON |
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