Corporate report

APHA: business impact target assessments, 2018 to 2019

Updated 15 December 2022

The business impact target (BIT) is a cross-government target for the reduction of regulation on business. Find out more about the BIT.

Under the BIT, APHA assesses the financial impacts on business of qualifying regulatory provisions (QRPs). QRPs are changes to regulatory practices that are described in a written ministerial statement. We assess the impacts of these changes through BIT assessments.

We submit BIT assessments for QRPs to the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) for validation.

Non-qualifying regulatory provisions (NQRPs) are excluded from the BIT as set out in a written ministerial statement. We submit NQRPs summaries to the RPC for validation.

Read about the scope of QRPs and NQRPs in the written ministerial statement.

1. Qualifying regulatory provisions

APHA has no qualifying regulatory provisions for the reporting period 21 June 2018 to 20 June 2019

2. Non-qualifying regulatory provisions

APHAs NQRPs summary for the reporting period 21 June 2018 to 20 June 2019 is listed in the table below.

Excluded category	Summary of measures, including any impact data where available
Measures certified as being below de minimis (measures with an EANDCB below +/- £5 million)	The Field Activity programme is a Defra programme which was set up in 2015 in part to meet a manifesto commitment to reduce regulatory burden on farmers and reducing annual farm visits. The scope was changed in April 2018 to focus specifically on the development and phased roll out of the Field Services Management (FSM) tool, enabling transformational change in APHA field service delivery. During the qualifying period (June 2018 to June 2019), FSM is providing auto scheduling of field visits, infield electronic data capture and management information (MI) and reporting functionality across a range of Great Britain wide animal health and welfare activity areas. The iterative roll out of FSM capability is beginning the transformation field based services in APHA. This will enable the delivery of outcomes more efficiently and effectively with the resource available. The Field Activity programme continues to contribute to Defra’s overall removal of farm visits through combining and co-ordinating inspection visits, enabling approximately 1,000 visits to be removed on an annual basis. Combining and co-ordinating inspections reduces the regulatory burden on farmers and reduces the cost of inspection visits.
EU regulations, decisions and directives and other international obligations, including the implementation of the EU Withdrawal Bill and EU Withdrawal Agreement	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Measures certified as concerning EU Withdrawal Bill operability measures	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Pro-competition	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Systemic financial risk	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Civil emergencies	Disease outbreaks - Since June 2018 to date, APHA has dealt with equine viral arteritis in stallions resulting in restrictions being placed on the affected animals. There were 3 instances of positive bluetongue disease from imported animals resulting in the positive animals being culled and destroyed and restrictions being placed on affected herds whilst additional surveillance testing was carried out. APHA also assisted Public Health England to manage a pet dog that had been exposed to monkey pox virus. From a plant pest perspective, APHA dealt with 9 findings of Asian hornets, which pose a serious threat to UK native bee colonies. Four Asian hornet nests were subsequently located and destroyed. APHA also dealt with an outbreak of root knot nematode in organic carrots and worked in partnership with Forestry Commission to deal with a breeding population of the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle which is a serious and destructive pest of spruce. On a positive note, after 7 years of APHA conducting a surveillance programme for Asian longhorn beetle, we can now declare ourselves free of this invasive forestry pest.
Fines and penalties	APHA referred 743 cases to the Rural Payment Agency (RPA) for consideration of applying cross compliance penalties for those farmers who failed to TB test on time within their testing window. Severity of the penalty was dependant on the number of days overdue the test was when it was completed and imposed by RPA. Egg Marketing and Salmonella Controls: 14 Penalty Notices totalling £13,100 and 19 warning letters issued. Defra Investigation Service (DIS) referrals: 9 cases referred to DIS.
Misuse of drugs	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Measures certified as relating to the safety of tenants, residents and occupants in response to the Grenfell tragedy	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.
Casework	No activities listed in this section represent a change in the burden of regulation placed on business. Licensing, registration and inspection - APHA licences, approves or registers a range of premises, such as markets (and other animal gatherings including shows), animal by-products plants (including rendering facilities, knackers yards, hunt kennels, maggot farms), quarantine centres, nurseries and other plant production sites, designated inspection points and egg producers. We licence movements of animals, the export of animals, animal by-products, plants and plant products, the import of animals, plants and bees and trade in bovine and porcine semen and embryos. APHA issues authorisations to hauliers for the transport of animals. We licence trade in endangered species and register certain birds kept in captivity. These licensing activities are supported by risk-based inspection regimes, often in partnership with local authorities and are designed to ensure ongoing compliance with the conditions of approval for the premises and activities concerned. We inspect farms and other holdings in response to reports about disease risk or conditions of animal welfare and to check compliance with welfare standards for the purposes of the single farm payment scheme. APHA inspects zoos, museums and other establishments that hold collections of endangered species. Surveillance and testing - APHA undertakes surveillance to detect the presence or spread of animal diseases, for example bovine tuberculosis and salmonella, through testing samples taken on farm, at abattoirs, markets and at animal by-products plants. APHA performs surveillance to detect plant and bee pests and diseases to measure their spread. This is achieved through inspection and sampling on nurseries, in public spaces and in the natural environment. We also take samples as part of our activities to regulate the trade in endangered species, for example to establish the species or to verify that an animal has been captive bred. The majority of animal health and welfare legislation that APHA regulates is enforced by the local authorities who are the named statutory enforcers and prosecuting authority.
Education, communications and promotion	APHA have participated in 25 events for education, training and communication purposes with industry and stakeholders.
Activity related to policy development	APHA charging work - 16 areas of work were chargeable for the qualifying period June 2018 to June 2019. There has been increases and decreases in income streams. Volumes are a factor for some - APHA may have done more or less of a particular activity year on year. Fee changes are another factor, a ‘fundamental review’ of fees in 2017 meant many plant health related fees were amended in April 2018 for implementation in June 2018. Reductions in fees can be a result of policy changes, process changes and efficiencies in service delivery.
Changes to management of regulator	Following consideration of the exclusion category there are no measures for the reporting period that qualify for the exclusion.