A number of quangos with a huge impact on the UK fresh produce trade are on a government hit list.
The advisory committee on pesticides, the School Food Trust and the advisory committee on organic standards are all on the list, which was leaked last week.
More than 50 DEFRA quangos and committees are included in the catalogue of 177 arms-length government bodies threatened with closure, with plans afoot to merge a further 124.
The document obtained by the BBC includes groups linked to all major government departments and is dated 26 August. The Cabinet Office has ordered a leak inquiry and says it regrets any “uncertainty” for employees.
The proposed axing of the advisory committee on pesticides and the pesticide residues committee have caused concern amid accusations of political window dressing.
British Crop Protection Council chairman Colin Ruscoe said cutting the committees would save little money as their roles would have to be replaced and scientific nous may be lost.
The body which presides over New Covent Garden Market, the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA), was also named in a file of 94 public bodies still under review, but the authority moved to clarify its position.
The Fresh Produce Consortium isn’t pulling any punches in its campaign to persuade ministers to keep the School Fruit and Veg Scheme. The organisation has emailed MPs this week with a series of images urging them to lobby department of health minister Anne Milton and PM David Cameron to retain the scheme, which is tipped to be axed as part of the government’s spending review.
CGMA ceo Jan Lloyd said it would take a hybrid of legislation to disengage government from CGMA and that DEFRA is fully aware of its plans to revamp the market long term.
“We have done a lot of hard work putting the market on a secure footing,” she said. “Looking ahead it is important that we retain the business development managers and the DEFRA task force suggested that they are used at other markets.”
Communities secretary Eric Pickles told the BBC: “We are certainly looking towards removing a number of unaccountable quangos and reducing their costs but we haven’t come to a firm view on numbers. We will be making an announcement soon.”
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