Consultation on Fees for Seed Testing, Seed Certification and Associated Seed Functions

Overview

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views from individuals and companies including Professional Operators (seed merchants, seed processors, seed packers), Licensed Crop Inspectors, Licensed Seed Samplers, Licensed Seed Testing Stations (LSTS), farmers and interested members of the public on the Scottish Government’s proposal to amend fees for seed certification, seed testing & associated seed functions to allow full cost recovery.
 

Why your views matter

Within Scottish Government, SASA and the Rural Payments Inspection Directorate (RPID) have responsibility for carrying out the technical and administrative work associated with seed certification including field inspection of crops, testing of seed and the training and examination of people who undertake these activities.

Scottish Government’s policy objective is that the fees set for public services should be full cost recovery, to avoid unnecessary public expenditure. SASA are the Seed Certifying Authority for Scotland and they review the fees for seed testing, seed certification and associated functions annually to ensure that costs incurred are met by those businesses which benefit directly from the services provided.

Read the consultation paper.

What happens next

After the consultation has closed, we will analyse the responses received and these will inform the decision making process for how the Plant Health, Horticulture, Seeds and Potato Policy Branch will form their policy. Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, we will publish an analysis of them along with a scanned copy of the response(s).