A judicial review of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) decision to raise its charges in 2026 has been launched by the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS).
AIMS highlighted that the FSA charges to industry will rise by £10 million in 2026, a 24% increase to the industry when inflation is 3%.
It also stated that the hourly rate for an official veterinarian (OV) will increase from April by 20.8% to £79.60 an hour, a total of £165,500 a year.
Peter Hewson, veterinary director at AIMS, commented: “The FSA blames an increase in contractor costs and reduced number of chargeable hours, whilst at the same time reducing its discount by over £3 million.
“We have been pressing the Agency to introduce the obvious efficiencies available in view of the reduced requirement and limited value of official controls in slaughterhouses, but the FSA has flatly refused to engage while it played with changes to a discount system that should not be required if FSA charges were lawful.
“Because industry does not believe FSA charges are lawful it has launched a judicial review, funded by the whole industry, which will be heard in the High Court in April.”
FSA priority is “ensuring British meat is safe”
FSA said that over the 2025/26 year, the meat industry received £14.9 million in discount support. Next year (2026/27) it said this would drop to £11.8 million, which FSA said was a “signification taxpayer contribution” of 18% towards the total estimated charges of £66 million.
Junior Johnson, director of operations at the FSA, said: “The judicial review is before the court and will be heard in April.
“In the meantime, our priority remains ensuring that British meat is safe, protecting public health, and upholding high standards of animal welfare, helping to ensure people have confidence in the food they eat.”
FSA will meet with industry representative bodies on 26th February to present its 2026/27 meat charges, stating that it would “provide an opportunity for discussion”. Documents relating to the new charges will be published on the FSA website after the meeting.
