I felt some sympathy for the Defra representatives who were harangued by a disconcerted audience at the plant health seminar organised by the FPC this week. But not much.
That the seminar took place was a good thing, of course. All three Defra participants were worth a listen. But why it had to take FPC initiative at such a late stage in the consultation proceedings in order for it to happen at all is beyond me.
The government can hide behind traditional precedent, but written consultation periods based on a single letter mailed to intended participants should be consigned to history if this is a good case example.
Defra did not help its cause by candidly admitting that there are a multitude of holes in its implementation plans. But the gaping holes in the consultation process are more immediately damning.
The UK’s biggest supermarket and one of its weighty counterparts had not been consulted, to their knowledge. Nearly a third of the fruit imported into this country for retail shelves is destined for Tesco. We all know that its decisions are widely felt within the industry and more often than not, final.
So how does government expect to sneak through far-reaching amendments to the European plant health directive without first talking through the implications with the biggest buyer of the affected products?
I wouldn’t go as far as saying the Defra approach was arrogant, but it is woefully misguided. It cuts both ways though, and the industry’s response when consulted is pitiful. Those who choose to say nothing are left with no defence when legislation they would oppose is foisted on them.
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