Effective Enforcement and Risk
Lead Research Organisation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Department Name: Centre for Analysis of Risk & Regulation
Abstract
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is determined to achieve more risk-based enforcement in the enforcement of food regulation. For this purpose the project aims to improve the evidence on enforcement and risk within the food sector and beyond. The project will at first consist of an extensive review of the evidence on enforcement and risk. The strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base will be assessed critically, with a view to identifying gaps. On the basis of this review, and while giving consideration to the FSA's enforcement strategy and the decentred nature of food regulation through Local Authorities, the PI will make proposals for new research initiatives to be approved and funded so as to strengthen the evidence base. The PI will also undertake some research to contribute strengthening the evidence. The PI will also lead a cross government social research group to explore the matter of enforcement and risk across fields. The PI will also strive to connect with the enforcement arm of the Agency and the community of enforcement officers in Local Authorities, a so that they would take greater account of the evidence available. To make sure that the PI's proposals will be relevant and so as to maximize impact, the PI will familiarize with actual enforcement practices by observing them personally on the ground.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit?
The main beneficiary intended for this project is the Food Standards Agency. It is hoped that the project's outputs will also benefit the community of enforcement officers within Local Authorities. More broadly, the project should also be of interest to a wider community of regulators and government departments, and particularly agencies operating in the UK and also involved in regulating SMEs and collaborating for that matter with Local Authorities. The project's outputs might also benefit other food safety regulators in other countries, notably in other European Union member states.
How will they benefit?
The FSA will benefit from having a clear view on the state of the evidence on enforcement and compliance. The FSA shall also benefit from having a robust strategy to strengthen that evidence base further. This will contribute to informing FSA's research, and its policies. Ultimately a strong evidence base should contribute to consolidating the legitimacy of FSA's decisions. More generally, enforcement officers would pay more attention to the evidence available, and they would be able to take better-informed decisions in the field. Other government departments and regulatory agencies might also benefit, through the involvement of their GSR staff, and could thus gain intelligence to inform their policies.
The main beneficiary intended for this project is the Food Standards Agency. It is hoped that the project's outputs will also benefit the community of enforcement officers within Local Authorities. More broadly, the project should also be of interest to a wider community of regulators and government departments, and particularly agencies operating in the UK and also involved in regulating SMEs and collaborating for that matter with Local Authorities. The project's outputs might also benefit other food safety regulators in other countries, notably in other European Union member states.
How will they benefit?
The FSA will benefit from having a clear view on the state of the evidence on enforcement and compliance. The FSA shall also benefit from having a robust strategy to strengthen that evidence base further. This will contribute to informing FSA's research, and its policies. Ultimately a strong evidence base should contribute to consolidating the legitimacy of FSA's decisions. More generally, enforcement officers would pay more attention to the evidence available, and they would be able to take better-informed decisions in the field. Other government departments and regulatory agencies might also benefit, through the involvement of their GSR staff, and could thus gain intelligence to inform their policies.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Julien Etienne (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
| Description | This narrative is only a preliminary attempt to describe how my work has been used within the FSA. Most of the workstreams in which I have been participating in the agency have not produced any output yet, but some of them will hopefully have reached a satisfactory degree of finalization by the time my secondment ends. I am notably expecting that my advice and sometimes direct involement in relation to FSA's research on enforcement will have come to numerous findings by the time the secondment ends. In terms of impact on FSA's research programme and effort, my suggestions have led to the funding of a research project on a type of enforcement tool that has been available in certain parts of the UK but not others, with a view to produce evidence to justify whether that tool should be available everywhere. This project will be completed by the end of the secondment and should be directly informing the Agency's stance in that respect. In relation to that project, Carles Orri, Food Safety and Hygiene Policy Manager, FSA, has made the following statement: 'The review of the introduction of Remedial Action Notices in the non-approved sector in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2012 is an important piece of work that will contribute significantly to the review of enforcement powers in England. Preliminary work carried out by Julien Etienne has provided valuable evidence to support a case for further research into whether enforcement officers in England are equipped with adequate enforcement tools. The outcomes of this research will also help identify enforcement discrepancies within the UK.' A number of other research initiatives I have proposed are in the process of being agreed, funded, and commissioned to external contractors, particularly a portfolio of projects around the topic of enforcement consistency. In terms of impact on FSA's policy and strategy, the various evidence reviews I have been working on have been passed on or presented to various groups or individuals in the Agency. This has been sometimes an occasion for disagreements and mutual challenge, as was envisioned by those who worked to make the secondment possible in the first place. I have notably engaged intensively with the regulatory strategy team: 'As we are developing our regulatory strategy, Julien has been invaluable in bringing to our attention interesting, relevant initiatives in other sectors or countries that we have been able to learn from. Concerning earned recognition, his literature review provided an excellent overview of the evidence that we have drawn on when developing our own approach.' Elspeth Macdonald and Alice Biggins, Regulatory and International Unit, RLSD. This narrative will certainly be expanded far more than it is now when the secondment will have ended. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Communicating evidence and discussing future plans for evaluation and policy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The activities have involved a presentation of my work on a specific topic of interest to the agency, followed by a discussion and group work with members of the agency on future plans. These activities have raised questions, sometimes challenging (either from the audience to me, or the other way around), and have led to informing future plans for evaluation work, and future policies. - a case is being built for evaluation work to be undertaken (this is likely to be commissioned to external parties), on the basis of the evidence presented and the discussion that followed. - a workstream on one of the topics I covered has been opened, which involves essentially frequent meetings between different memebrs of the agency who are directly interested in that topic. I participate to these meetings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Participation to preparation, appraisal, monitoring, and post-award evaluation of several different commissioned research projects |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | My contribution has involved questioning the clarity of research calls, the quality of proposals, the quality of research designs, the quality of outputs and reports. This has led to a number of changes on various levels. 'It has been useful having dedicated resource from ARD that focuses on enforcement aspects. In particular Julien's input into the development of research proposals was important as it provided a very effective challenge process for those that do not have a background in social science methodologies. It ensured that we had a clear understand with what we wanted to achieve with the research and that these requirements where communicated to the contactor, ensuring that the project would deliver the most effective results possible.' Nathan Philippo, Head of Hygiene Delivery Branch, Local Delivery Division, FSA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Support to evaluation of regulatory work |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Food Standards Agency has asked me to draft a self-evaluation guide for Local Authorities so that they might evaluate as well as possible their regulatory activities. This guide is still at draft stage but it has received very positive reviews from numerous members in the Agency and in Local Authorities. It is currently being trialled by a handful of LAs, to which I have provided direct support in the form of meetings and emails. I have listed the draft guide as a publication. The meetings that have happened so far have provided two sorts of impacts. On the one hand, there has been a noted interest in the guide from members of the Agency who do not have any research background . This is due to the effort I have put in writing the guide in an easily readable form, and with many examples draw from the Food hygiene/standards area. On the other hand, LAs that I have met to discuss their plans to evaluate their work have taken on board many aspects of the guide and many comments I made to them on their evaluation design. They have also asked for further interactions with me as their project develops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |