APHA quality policy (online HTML version)
Updated 11 January 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apha-quality-policy-statement/apha-quality-policy
Document reference: POL15
Author: A. Bucknall
Edition: 6
Issue date: 10 January 2019
Approvers name: Kath Webster on behalf of Chris Hadkiss
1. Policy aims and scope
1.1. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an Executive Agency working on behalf of the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Scottish Government and Welsh Government.
1.2. The role of APHA is to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy.
1.3. This Quality Policy explains the quality objective of APHA and the duties to ensure quality, which are defined as “efficiently, effectively and consistently satisfying customer requirements.”
2. Satisfying customer requirements
2.1. APHA will ensure that its products and services fully meet the agreed needs of its customers, including those defined by statutory and regulatory requirements.
2.2. APHA is committed to good professional practice and aims to support this commitment through the use of management systems that will be reviewed to assess effectiveness and to foster continual improvement.
3. Performance management and performance review
3.1. Standard operating procedures are used where there is a business need to ensure that correct, safe and consistent processes are used by staff to achieve a quality product.
3.2. Procedures are published in a controlled manner to prevent the use of unauthorised or out-of-date instruction documents.
3.3. Internal audits are used to provide assurance that procedures are being used correctly and appropriately: to ensure problems are investigated promptly and to ensure that effective action is taken to prevent, as far as practicable, any reoccurrence.
3.4. Procedures will be performed by staff that are suitably trained and qualified. Opportunities will be provided for staff to extend their knowledge through appropriate training.
3.5. Staff are subject to a regular review process that aims to continuously improve individual performance whilst supporting and motivating people and teams to deliver a quality service to customers.