To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many UK nationals will take part in the audit of cheese-making establishments initiated by the European Commission; where conclusions of the audit will be made public; what the cost is of the audit; and what percentage of the cost will be borne by the European Commission. (112749)

The European Commission’s audit of the United Kingdom's implementation and enforcement of food safety rules in the dairy sector took place between 21 and 29 November 2006. The audit commenced with an initial pre-meeting between the two Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) inspectors involved and officials from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Defra. The inspectors were then accompanied by FSA officials on visits to seven dairy business premises in England and Wales to evaluate at first hand official controls relating to the safety of milk and milk based products. The audit mission concluded with a closing meeting involving officials from the FVO, Defra and the FSA.

The FVO report of the mission is not yet available. Following the established consultation procedures, the FVO will publish the report on the Commission website in due course.

The mission took the usual format, with all parties funding their own expenditure. However the overall cost of the audit has not been assessed.