Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Food Standards Agency inspection charges on the financial viability of (a) small abattoirs and (b) private kill services.

Information on the 2025/26 charge rates for official controls (inspections) conducted in meat premises is available on the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) website.

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises

As in previous years, the impact of charges will be offset by a taxpayer-funded discount which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the discount on different sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides the FSA has published.

The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in the light of this evaluation. No decisions have yet been taken.