The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) will work to the following key business outcomes for 2011-12:
Value for money (Operational efficiency and value for money)
Demonstrated by:
Meeting the financial performance target by the end of financial year 2011-12.
Delivering savings in line with the CSR settlement in 2011-12 and producing plans to achieve savings required in later years.
Implementing and harmonising clear SLAs with all customers to reflect their priorities.
Driving sustainability through carbon reduction and water usage reduction.
Customers (Customer satisfaction)
Demonstrated by:
Striving to maintain and develop excellent relationships with the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England once it is established.
Designing and implementing a customer insight programme—this will provide the baseline from which, in consultation with customer groups, an improvement plan will be driven for key segments.
Capability, resilience and outbreak management
Demonstrated by:
As far as possible safeguarding resilience in the face of reducing funding levels and continuously working to improve outbreak management through learning from the structured programme of exercises (focusing in 2011-12 on arrangements for resource sharing across Great Britain in the light of the devolution of budgets).
Developing a scanning and surveillance model which will optimise investment (in staff, estate and technology) and maximise the use of external providers and the farming industry to deliver the greatest benefit in the prediction of new and recurring threats.
Implementing release six of the business reform programme to deliver efficiency savings and capability enhancements, ensuring that resilience is protected.
Bovine tuberculosis
Demonstrated by:
Pulling together the joined capabilities on research, evidence generation, analysis and delivery to offer innovative options to policy and industry customers, to support the delivery of TB eradication programmes for England and Wales, and the risk-based testing approach for Scotland.
Further details are given in the AHVLA business plan for 2011-12 a copy of which has been placed on the AHVLA website.
The Centre For Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) will work to the following key business outcomes for 2011-12. These are demonstrated through a combination of detailed metrics and actions summarised as:
Value for money (Finance)
Demonstrated by:
Delivering full cost recovery.
Delivery of sound financial management and governance.
Successful widening of CEFAS’ customer base and growth of non DEFRA income.
Delivery of tangible effectiveness gains.
Customers (Customer satisfaction)
Demonstrated by:
Levels of customer satisfaction for each project.
CEFAS impacts: Progress against the four priority DEFRA customer impact areas (CFP reform, marine planning and licensing, evidence needs for marine strategy framework directive and enhancing the sustainable contribution offish and shellfish to UK food security).
Science excellence
Demonstrated by:
Numbers of published papers and media references.
Level of customer satisfaction in scientific quality of work.
Delivery of ongoing investment in new science and capabilities.
Employee engagement
Demonstrated by:
The relative performance in the annual staff survey compared to cross civil service scores.
Delivery of specific actions including sickness absence improvement.
Social Responsibility
Demonstrated by:
Delivery of H&S key performance indicators.
Maintenance of OSHAS18001 and ISO14001 accreditations.
Delivery of sustainability priorities concerning wastewater discharge, increasing volunteering and reduced car travel on business.
Further details are given in the CEFAS business plan for 2011-12, a copy of which has been placed on the CEFAS website.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) will work to the following key business outcomes for 2011-12:
Value for Money
Demonstrated by:
Achieving cost recovery and demonstrating progress in the three elements of value-for-money (economy, efficiency and effectiveness).
Customers
Demonstrated by:
Ensuring that at least 80% of customers in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry consider the level of service provided by the VMD to be good or excellent and that the VMD act on areas identified requiring improvement within the confines of the available resources.
Policy customers in DEFRA and 0ther Government Departments considering the level of service provided by the VMD to be satisfactory.
Operations/Policy Delivery
Demonstrated by:
Authorising veterinary medicinal products according to legislative requirements and their ongoing benefit: risk assessment remaining positive through taking proportionate action on quality, safety and efficacy as necessary.
Providing evidence of actions that encourage the responsible, safe and effective use of veterinary medicinal products according to the legislative requirements through proportionate surveillance and inspection activities—and where necessary using enforcement action to detect and deter illegal use.
Ensuring UK policy principles influence EU legislative change, further the principles of market harmonisation and the development of efficient and effective procedures and guidance within the European Medicines Regulatory Network.
Capacity and Capability
Demonstrated by:
Ensuring the VMD utilises its funding streams efficiently to maintain capability and capacity to deliver its business objectives and is fit for purpose.
Further details are given in the VMD business plan for 2011-12 to 2014-15, a copy of which has been placed on the VMD website.
The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) will work to the following key business outcomes for 2011-12:
Value for money (financial performance)
Demonstrated by:
Meeting agreed financial performance, service delivery and efficiency targets.
Customers (Customer focus)
Demonstrated by:
Delivering the outcomes detailed in the DEFRA/Fera SLA through the provision of independent and impartial advice.
Performance
Demonstrated by:
Delivering effective and efficient plant health, bee health and PVS policy services and outcomes.
Science Capability and Incident Response
Demonstrated by:
Providing a robust food and environmental research, response and recovery capability that supports Fera’s, DEFRA’s and wider Government requirements.
Leadership
Demonstrated by:
Developing and maintaining a culture of ownership and accountability that values everyone for their contribution.
Embedding Sustainability and Support for the Big Society
Demonstrated by:
Driving value by maximising the exploitation of our assets and embedding the principles of sustainability further into our business operations.
Further details are given in the Fera business plan for 2011-12, a copy of which has been placed on the Fera website.
The Rural Payments Agency will work to the following interim key business outcomes for 2011-12:
Value for money (Effectively delivering accurate and timely payments)
Demonstrated by:
The single payment scheme fund being paid, in an accurate and cost-effective manner, between 1 December 2011 and 30 June 2012.
(i) SPS 2011 payments by value to customers in regulatory window (> 95.238% by 30 June 2012).
(ii) Additional indicators to be available after the delivery of the RPA strategic improvement plan.
To process and pay valid claims for trader schemes and rural development implementation schemes.
(i) 90% within Ministerial guidelines (28 days).
(ii) 99% within set EU Commission deadlines or in their absence 60 days of receipt of the claim.
Customers (Putting customers at the heart of Agency delivery)
Demonstrated by:
Demonstrating strong commitment to focus on customers by delivering a clear set of customer service standards for the end of August 2011.
Delivering operational excellence
Demonstrated by:
Minimising the risk of disallowance and make payments accurate to within materiality for all subsidy schemes under RPA’s direct management with current indicative levels.
Further details are given in the interim RPA business plan for 2011-12, a copy of which has been placed on the RPA website. That plan, including objectives and indicators will be reviewed and updated when a longer-term strategic plan is implemented in late summer.
Copies of the business plans will be placed in the Libraries of the House.