Corporate report

APHA regulatory and compliance policy

How the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out its regulatory functions in line with the Regulators' Code.

Documents

APHA regulatory and compliance policy

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Details

The document outlines the APHA’s regulatory functions, the principles of Better Regulation which guide these functions and our policy on achieving compliance.

We are the national regulator in Great Britain responsible for the delivery of government policies on animal health and welfare on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Scottish Government and Welsh Government.

We are the designated UK Management Authority under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and work on behalf of the Food Standards Agency in relation to the Food Hygiene Regulations.

We implement and enforce plant and bee health policy and the release and marketing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in England, and in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government. We also enforce compliance with egg marketing standards.

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2014
Last updated 20 September 2018 + show all updates
  1. The APHA regulatory and compliance policy has been updated.

  2. Publication updated - November 2015

  3. AHVLA documents have been re-assigned to the new Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

  4. First published.

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