Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Not Addressed
The regulators are struggling to recruit and retain the skills they need to regulate effectively...
Recommendation
The regulators are struggling to recruit and retain the skills they need to regulate effectively after EU Exit. Having left the EU, the regulators need additional staff to deliver their new and expanded responsibilities. CMA is competing with the private sector to recruit and retain competition lawyers and economists, while both FSA and HSE are struggling to recruit experienced toxicologists in sufficient numbers. A shortage of veterinarians to assure food safety and animal welfare in abattoirs is also a key risk for FSA, which in autumn 2021 had to put temporary measures in place to ensure it had enough veterinarians to deliver this critical role. The regulators are taking action to try to address these shortages, for example, investing in staff training in HSE, and reviewing the pay and conditions of veterinarians at FSA to make the career more attractive. However, the ability to recruit and retain the skilled staff they need remains a key risk to the future effectiveness of all three regulators. Recommendation: The regulators should work together to identify common skills shortages, and develop long-term strategies for recruiting, retaining, and training staff to ensure they have the skills they need in the future. Recommendation: The FSA should work with the Department for Education and relevant professional bodies to address the shortage in qualified veterinarians.
Government Response Summary
The government states that the recommendation is implemented, then describes how they ensure compliance with Nitrogen Dioxide limits, the uncertainty in models, and monitoring networks.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented The government is satisfied that the best available evidence that meets the stringent requirements for assessing compliance with the annual mean Nitrogen Dioxide (NO ) limit value under the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) (AQSR) has been used to identify areas in exceedance and bring them into the programme. An uncertainty of around +/-30% is not unusual for a model of this scale and complexity, and assessments have demonstrated that the national model meets the uncertainty requirements for assessing compliance under the AQSR. The government continues to work with external experts to identify and implement further targeted improvements to the national model to ensure it uses the best available evidence and reflects the impact of local measures. The government has also set up a new monitoring network which has greatly increased the number of locations where compliance with NO limits is assessed using measurements. This network is achieving lower levels of uncertainty (<15%) and has more than tripled the number of roadside measurements used in the NO compliance assessment. Since both modelled and measured values contain uncertainties, the government cannot definitively guarantee that all areas of exceedance have been identified. Where local authorities’ air quality monitoring identifies a potential NO breach, they can share this evidence with the Joint Air Quality Unit. Whether a locally identified breach should be tackled through the NO programme or through the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime will depend on whether the monitoring data meets the specific siting and data quality requirements of the AQSR.