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Welcome to the September edition and my first editorial of Between the Lines. Like many people recently, I’ve been reflecting on just how much the UK, and the world, changed in the seven decades of the Queen’s reign. She has been a constant presence in so much of our recent political history – and our personal histories too. It only feels like it was yesterday when we were celebrating her 70th anniversary and of course seeing her swear in Liz Truss as our new Prime Minister acted as a reminder of her commitment to public service.
Whatever your political or constitutional views, I think Queen Elizabeth II was an incredible role model for those of us in public service over her lifetime. That’s something which resonates very closely with me, as a civil servant. She worked with so many different politicians, through decades of change, and in many ways lived the values that we hold to as civil servants – integrity, honesty, objectivity, impartiality.
I know some friends and colleagues felt very personally affected by the news of the Queen’s death. Judging by the engagement on our all staff call on 9 September, many of us in some way felt the impact of her passing. For some colleagues the sad news brought to the surface memories
of family members or friends they have lost. I know that I’ve been thinking about my grandparents and the pictures and ornaments that were always on display when they lived in the UK and retired back to Jamaica.
I’d like to say a personal thanks to all those who worked very quickly to put arrangements in place with FBOs and our staff when the date of the funeral, 19 September, was declared a bank holiday.
It feels like we’re in a transitional phase as we close a previous era with the start of a new one.
I hope colleagues were able to get some time out for some well-earned rest over the summer. The next few months look set to be busy, but as you have consistently demonstrated since I joined the organisation (and long before) you are unwavering in rising to any challenge when it comes to delivering our mission of food you can trust. priorities become clearer.
inflation. We may face different and unforeseen demands, but just as always, I am sure we will pull together and work our way through whatever comes our way.
Earlier this month we also announced structural changes within our organisation, driven by our strategy that will see elements of the Operation Transformation Programme move to the Strategy Legal Communications Group led by Katie Pettifer.
I know any change can sometimes feel unsettling and wanted to assure those impacted that it will not involve any loss of roles. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and have your voice heard, including in one-to-ones with your manager. You can also direct questions to the Field Ops Engagement inbox
about cost of living and
Speaking of having your voice heard, we had a great turnout at our Operations engagement days earlier in the summer – you can read more about those in this edition, including details of the Autumn engagement events. We also had a fantastic response to the Operations communications survey. A big thank you to the over 200 colleagues who took the time to respond. We’re now looking at your feedback and comments to make sure we continue to improve our communications.
Surveys are a really important way for us to gauge how you’re feeling and put a spotlight on what we need to be better at. The Civil Service People Survey 2022 opened on 26 September. Please have your say using the team code emailed to you.
Junior Johnson Director of OperationsThe annual Civil Service People Survey launched on 26 September and you should all now have received your invitation to complete it.
Please be open and honest about how it feels to work for the FSA, what we’re doing well and where we could improve.
The survey is our main way to measure employee engagement. Last year, our overall engagement score was 68% – our second highest ever engagement score and above the Civil Service benchmark of 66%.
Our results were broadly stable across the main categories (including our previous priority areas of learning and development, bullying and
harassment, and discrimination and fair treatment) but we saw some drops in how you felt about workload, pay and elements of leadership.
We are keen to see how the work carried out in these areas is reflected in this year’s survey. It’s so important we all take the opportunity to share our views, and you can be confident that your responses will be completely anonymous.
The survey is open until 21 October 2022.
• Wellbeing
• Fair treatment and inclusion
• Leadership visibility and future direction
Following the launch of our digital approvals process earlier this year, we are now in the early stages of our Food Chain Information (FCI) Collection and Communication of Inspection Results (CCIR) project.
FCI and CCIR aim to identify opportunities for digital, data and technology to improve ways of working and sharing information more effectively to improve outcomes. The scope will include things like identifying suitable systems and in-plant datagathering tools.
Over the summer, we undertook an exercise to gather the views of internal and external stakeholders
– for example, consumers, industry representatives, devolved administrations and other government departments – to understand the appetite for and impact of potential regulatory divergence. Our findings have been shared with the Board for their input on next steps.
Following the launch of the segmentation pilot, we have identified some emerging issues with the functionality and outputs from the model, and listened to feedback about complexities in being able to explain the model outputs. In response, a decision has been made to take some time to reassess and reconfigure the model.
To ensure FBOs and public health are not negatively impacted during this reassessment period, we have returned to the process of determining audit frequency by reference to the last audit outcome and are using the insights gained to inform the full roll out.
Get involved and keep up to date If you would like to get involved in our future Technical Panels to provide technical expertise and feedback on future OTP projects, contact OTP@food.gov.uk Visit our SharePoint page for the latest project info and OTP news.
Our new system to report incidents and accidents went live on 1 October and replaces AIR.
Assure (previously known as Evotix) consists of two parts:
• The Assure Go app – which enables anyone from FSA/E&J to submit an accident/incident form.
• The Assure admin system – for line managers to enter investigation results and report on actions.
The new system will be used for reporting all accidents/ incidents, near misses, bullying and harassment and occupational ill health/disease for both Field Operations and non-Field Operations staff.
Wendy Taylor, part of the Health Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) team
and leading the rollout, says: “Assure is a welcome improvement on the old reporting system –more intuitive to use with more comprehensive outcoming data.”
• The ‘Report an Issue’ form allows concerns to be reported in confidence. Information will be sent directly to the HSW team and not shared with your line manager.
• The ability for incidents to be reported on the Assure Go app either from a computer or a mobile phone.
• Greater accessibility and ease of use compared to the previous AIR system – for example, a QR code can be scanned on your mobile to access the Assure Go app.
• Field Operations line managers
In January we launched the Field Operations Meat Plant Document e-module, available on the FSA eLearning Platform. Dozens of you have completed the course and we hope it has been useful in expanding your SharePoint skills.
Some of the most frequent questions sent to the CBI mailbox are around the uploading and searching of these documents, so if you haven’t completed the e-module yet, now is the perfect opportunity to have your questions
answered in a relatively short amount of time.
If you are not already signed up to the eLearning platform, you will need to use the log in details sent to you by the Capability and Development team in 2021. Further assistance in registering or accessing the e-module can be found in the L&D intranet hub or by emailing hr.capability. development@food.gov.uk
It is a legal requirement for relevant plant documentation to be stored safely and securely within our
throughout the chain will be able to log in and check details of accidents and incidents in their Cluster (ITLs), area (Area Managers) or region (Operations Managers and HODs), allowing greater oversight of the type and number of incidents reported and the actions taken.
• Non-Field Operations managers will be assigned by HSW to any incidents involving their staff.
• Assure will also make it easier for managers to track assigned actions and will provide a dashboard of reports.
ITLs have received training on the new system and the accident/ incident reporting pages on SharePoint have been updated with user guides and further information.
central storage facility, in the Field Operations Meat Plant Documents site. Storing documents on desktops or OneDrives can pose a significant problem if a laptop suddenly stops working. We all know that sickness, annual leave, and changes in staff happen – nothing is more frustrating than not being able to locate a document you know should be in its plant folder.
If you have any questions or feedback about the module or have any issues in accessing the Field Operations module, you can send them to cbi@food.gov.uk and mark for the attention of Chloë Thomas or Louise Newbould.
A look at the benefits of our new reporting system
The IRIS2 CI project is delivering a new look to the IRIS application while keeping its core functions and uses. It is a continuous enhancing of the IRIS application, with improved accessibility and navigation that will be delivered with support targeted at improving CCIR data collection across Operations.
New features are being made available in stages as they become ready for use.
They include:
IRIS in a mobile-first format that features:
• Improved functionality
• New features
• Throughput as a required field, in the form of ‘Number Slaughtered’
A dedicated CCIR/IRIS support page that includes:
• Targeted ‘bite-size’ IRIS guides
• Condition reference cards
• Links to all CCIR related MOC chapters
• Standardised inspection results templates
Condition Reference Cards
Expanded conditions listings for all species
The IRIS2 CI project will deliver these improvements in two phases:
Phase 1 began in early September and involves a controlled bi-weekly
staged rollout of IRIS2 in a mobile format. Support including targeted guides will be available on the IRIS2 intranet page.
Phase 2 will take place two weeks after the completion of the IRIS2 roll out, around mid-November, and will see the introduction of expanded conditions listings for all species. This will be supported by standardised inspection results templates for use in plant.
Phase 2 will trigger a 90-day transition period allowing users to familiarise themselves with the practical application of the new features.
Any MOC amendments introduced will be fully implemented at the end of the transition period, by 13 February 2023.
Each time managers record their team members’ performance rating on the Performance Rating and 9 Box Grid Position form, the system will automatically calculate the approximate date on which the next extended check-in is due. They will also be sent a reminder when the time approaches to help make sure check-ins continue to take place at regular intervals.
Lesley Devlin, Capability and Development Manager says: “Our extended checkins are a really important opportunity to review our work objectives, look at how our work contributes to the goals of the organisation as a whole and fits in with our strategy. They are also a place to discuss training and development opportunities and career goals.
“During busy periods it’s easy for these meetings to slip. This simple improvement to the performance rating form – providing a reminder to managers when extended check-ins are due – will help protect this time and support a more consistent approach across the organisation.”
The Capability and Development Team ran a series of online sessions in September on performance management policy and related skills, such as how to set objectives. Recordings of these are available on the Learning and Development hub on the intranet.
Our IRIS app is getting a new look, enhanced accessibility and improved navigation
We were delighted to invite colleagues from across Field Ops to join us in person for a series of faceto-face engagement days.
From 20 April to 8 June, Field Operations held 17 engagement days across three regions – in the cities of Peterborough, York, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter and Bristol –involving over 300 of our people.
We had a packed agenda for the sessions covering everything from managers’ hot topics to the IRIS2 rollout (see more on this on page 05), staff engagement and an update from the Operational Transformation Programme. We asked for feedback on each session and were delighted that right across the country our events achieved an average overall score of 4.2 out of 5.
Among the positive feedback, you told us you valued the sessions for being “open and responsive” and “well structured and informative”. Many of you welcomed the opportunity to meet Emily and members of our Executive Management Team and to put your questions to them. Above all, the consensus was that it was good to be back in a face-toface environment.
Knowledge sharing and banter! Sharna Malone is one of our new trainee
Official Auxiliaries who attended her first ever engagement event in Peterborough.
She says: “As a new trainee with no previous experience of the FSA, I had very
little knowledge of the organisation. The day was an excellent opportunity to meet and form relationships with experienced and knowledgeable colleagues. The friendliness of participants was the standout part of the day.
“While discussions and debates were had on old and new topics, some over my head as a new trainee, every effort was made to include me. I cannot forget to mention the banter was great too! Thanks for including the trainees.”
Wendy Crayton, Operational Transformation Project Manager, presented at several events on behalf of the Operational Transformation Programme. She says: “For me and colleagues in the OTP team, the MHI sessions have been a great opportunity to engage with staff. It’s been interesting to discuss the activity of the programme with colleagues, to hear their views and ideas, and learn what they are interested in hearing more about.
“It’s useful to have the opportunity to update on project milestones and future activity, but the sessions have been equally important in providing a forum for us to make sure we’re listening to and working with frontline staff. It means we can jointly develop and shape activity with those who have direct experience of how changes will impact the FSA’s delivery in practice.”
Richard Sharp, FMG Engagement Lead, says: “Getting our MHIs together for these types of events was one of the top priorities for Field Operations following the lifting of restrictions on travel and face-to-face meetings. We were delighted to be able to deliver the events across the whole country, and I would like to thank everyone involved for contributing so much to the days and making them such a success. Since we are now delivering these on a national basis, we have come up with a new (consistent) name, which will now be READ days – standing for Regional Engagement and Development.”
The next set of READ days will take place throughout October and November 2022 (see dates, right).
The agenda is still being finalised but we have taken on board ideas and feedback from our last events and will be looking to include a learning session on enforcement covering the role of the new enforcement team and the MHI role in in-plant enforcement. We will be sharing the national Field Ops engagement plan and talking through how your feedback from the last round of READ days has driven this.
We will be seeking your ideas on a learning and development journey for MHIs, updating you on the work we are undertaking around quality in plants and as ever will have plenty of time for Q&A to discuss the issues that matter to you.
East (all Peterborough)
• Wednesday 12 October
• Tuesday 18 October
• Thursday 3 November
Wednesday 9 November
Tuesday 15 November
North (all York)
• Thursday 20 October
• Wednesday 2 November
Tuesday 8 November
Thursday 17 November
• Thursday 24 November
Wales and West
• Thursday 13 October – Cardiff
• Wednesday 19 October – Bristol
• Tuesday 1 November – Birmingham
• Thursday 10 November – Exeter
• Wednesday 16 November – Birmingham
• Wednesday 23 November – Cardiff
You may be aware the Openness Digital and Data team are running a pilot of IT equipment exclusively for frontline MHIs. This pilot has been designed to give plant staff better tools which is hoped will improve your experience when using our digital services. The pilot is a direct response to feedback from the Field Ops Our Ways Of Working (OWOW) Group regarding IT issues experienced in plant.
The pilot team has been recruiting for volunteers and have a limited number of volunteer spaces left. If you are interested in testing a brand-new smartphone (you can keep your existing mobile number) or trialling the use of a laptop, please contact Elaine Donaghy or James Ambrose.
The pilot will run between October and December 2022. We will stagger the rollout of devices in weekly tranches.
Everything you need to know about the pilot, the devices we’re testing and who’s eligible to join
Samsung S22
Each FSA user in a plant will receive a top-of-the-range Samsung phone plus a docking station and monitor for their plant.
The Samsung S22 is the best phone available in the FSA and will come equipped with Samsung DeX , which will enable users to connect to the hub and use it as a desktop computer.
Standard equipment laptop
We are also piloting the use of laptops for plant users. These will
be the same devices issued to FSA staff in other divisions. The laptops will be issued one per user.
Why don’t we just replace all phones now?
We know that there are many plants which have experienced or are experiencing IT issues.
We hope the new smartphones and docking stations will help solve these problems but they need to be tested in a variety of environments first.
Are all frontline staff eligible to volunteer?
Only FSA-employed staff are eligible to volunteer. Contract
MHIs are not within the scope of this pilot as there are alternative contractual arrangements for these users.
If you are eligible for this pilot and have any accessibility needs (such as Speech to Text software for dyslexia), please indicate this on the application. We actively seek your involvement in the pilot as we want to ensure the equipment works for everyone. However, we may need to contact you to make sure the devices work with your adjustments and if we need to purchase an additional app to meet your needs.
MHIs get the chance to try, test and rate a range of new IT equipment to help improve our digital services
I joined the FSA and the Civil Service in November last year and discovered there was no specific network for international staff. I believe that we are stronger together so I linked up with colleagues and we founded the FSA International Staff network.
We represent international staff and British staff with international ties. We have a lot in common with everyone and bring our own diversity, different perspectives, but we also have specific needs.
Our families are abroad so we represented the views of the network when the Remote Working Outside the UK policy was discussed.
Our priorities this year include mentoring and reverse mentoring for our community and looking at nationality data and analysis.
We have an upcoming event with the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA), the public body set up to monitor and promote the rights of EU/EEA citizens and that of their family members following Brexit. We also have a ‘say my name’ campaign planned with the REN network.
I have been active in EU/EEA/Swiss citizens’ rights since Covid and sit on the IMA’s citizens’ panel. I am also an immigration advisor and volunteer for a charity that supports vulnerable EU/EEA citizens.
A highlight for me was when the General Consul of France in London agreed to deliver information events with volunteer colleagues on the EU Settlement Scheme, the immigration status EU/EEA residents had to secure to continue living in the UK lawfully.
Together we reached over 1,000 citizens directly and many more indirectly. I like that my efforts have an impact. Also my French dad was so proud that I know the Consul!
My husband is in the armed forces and, with two children, it can be hard to combine work and family life. I am grateful that the FSA has a flexible working policy and I can work from home.
I look forward to working with our strong steering committee, my brilliant co-chair, Daniel Santacruz, our membership and others to bring about policy changes and positive campaigns that benefit everyone at the FSA.
Describe your job in three words: Varied, international and people-focused.
What keeps you sane: Gardening. We’ve just got an allotment after two years on the waiting list.
How would your colleagues describe you? Reliable, focused and supportive.
What’s been your career highlight?
I wrote/collaborated on several funding bids worth between £20k and €9m. It’s always a great feeling to get the go-ahead.
What makes you proud to work at the FSA? The flexibility, the people, the ultimate goal: safer food.
My French dad was so proud that I know the General Consul of France!
The International Trade Audit and Assurance Team (ITA&A) is made up of the Head of ITA&A, John Lawrence, supported by the Export Veterinary Lead (EVL) Eva Tirado, Import Veterinary Leads (IVLs) Manuel Sarnago and Cristian Nistor, and Exports Veterinary Auditors (EVAs) Laura Mistreanu and Bogdan Lita with cross-team support from Clare Anson.
ITA&A provide an important point of assurance for food of animal origin that the UK both imports and exports. Our core functions are split into two main aspects of international trade: imports and exports.
We lead on the delivery of exportrelated matters on behalf of our organisation and other government departments for third-country export approvals and audits.
We influence the development of FSA and Defra policies and provide specialist advice and training to veterinarians within the FSA. Our responsibilities in relation to exports includes:
• Ensuring non-EU country audits of FSA premises are carried out in line with individual third country export requirements, objectively and consistently and to required quality standards.
• Advising FVLs during approvals for non-EU country exports and to provide an independent and consistent overview of the standards of approval for exports.
• Ensuring frontline colleagues have the right guidance, training and support to fulfil their roles effectively.
• Liaising with the FSA Exports Team, Field Operations, Defra and APHA on matters of export policy and delivery for non-EU country exports, assisting with inward inspections from the government of the importing country, and providing technical and veterinary expertise.
• Establishing effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, government customers, trade bodies and food business representing FSA at national and international level on export related matters
Our imports work includes:
• Providing veterinary and technical advice to Defra on food and feed safety, and public and animal health and welfare related hazards.
• Identifying and assessing animal and public health risks on products of animal origin (POAO) and high-risk food of non-animal origin (HRFNAO) to assist on decisions for the market access applications from third countries to trade these products with the GB.
• Ensuring imported POAO are produced in accordance with the GB welfare legal requirements.
• Providing technical and veterinary input and suitable representation for the delivery of objective, consistent and evidence-based audits to third countries (for both approval assessment and ongoing assurance); to assess and verify industry compliance with GB requirements, official controls delivery and mitigations of any identified hazards and/ or risks, audit reports and recommendation of the preferred outcome and possible import conditions to Defra, as the central competent authority for international trade.
If you would like to know more about the great work that we do, please email Imports-Internation alTradeAuditandAssurance@food. gov.uk or Exports-InternationalT radeAuditandAssurance@food. gov.uk
The Enforcement Delivery Team was established in April 2022 following the FSA’s commitment to bring enforcement decision-making inhouse after a review on enforcement activity in meat establishments.
Our team is remote working and consists of a Veterinary Delivery leader, Ruth, and three Veterinary Enforcement Delivery Managers covering three geographical regions, Carlos (North), Quim (East), and Sharon (West & Wales). Between us we bring a diverse range of skills and experience to the table.
Our role is to protect animal welfare and public health which we achieve by making decisions on enforcement matters escalated to us by our contracted Official Veterinarians. This involves reviewing evidence and ensuring that enforcement is risk-based and proportionate. We provide guidance on drafting enforcement documents and facilitate further input from other departments/colleagues, if required. We also attend stakeholder meetings, provide feedback, visit plants, and review and quality assure our processes.
We have reviewed 92 cases involving food hygiene and
animal welfare breaches so far. This has resulted in a combination of written letters and formal enforcement notices being served.
What we’ve learnt so far
Our regions are diverse in the range of enforcement required, and cases can be complex, with historical evidence often difficult to find or utilise. It takes a significant effort by all involved to reach an enforcement decision. We’ve built strong partnerships and received positive feedback from the Field Veterinary Coordinators we work with who share our goals and passion for protecting animal welfare and public health. The pandemic affected enforcement on the ground, and we know it will take longer to see the impact of our work but we are in this for the long haul.
Ruth Perez-Moreno, Carlos Gabaldon, Joaquim (Quim) Ferre Querol and Sharon Leak
We are looking for volunteers to join our Operational Transformation Programme technical panels
There is still time for Operations colleagues to volunteer to get involved with the Operational Transformation Programme (OTP) technical panels.
This is an opportunity to provide technical and subject matter expertise on specific projects under the Programme. It has been great to see lots of volunteers come forward already.
It’s not too late to get involved if you haven’t volunteered yet but are keen to offer your expertise. We have had lower numbers of OVs volunteering so are particularly interested to hear from any OVs wishing to get involved.
As a volunteer you’d have an
informal, part-time role with a time commitment of approximately 1 hour per week. If you are interested, please contact OTP@food.gov.uk
Do you have a story for Between the Lines? Email us at internalcommunications@food.gov.uk
It has been great to see some of our Operations colleagues featured in Meet a Colleague recently, including Inspection Team Leader Sophie Zealand and Official Auxiliary Pete Tiley.
Meet a Colleague is one of the most popular articles on our intranet. It’s a great way to say hello and tell people a bit about yourself and the work you do. We’d love to see more Operations colleagues featured, so if you’re up for taking part, please get in touch with the Internal Communications team at internalcommunications@ food.gov.uk
October welcomes Black History Month (BHM) – a time for us to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of individuals within the Black Community.
BHM runs from 3 October to 31 October. Join us as we celebrate past and present influential people of African and Caribbean heritage in the UK and to better understand Black History.
This year’s theme is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’. We will be exploring what this means to us and how the smallest action can make a big change.
Look out for more information on the intranet where we’ll be covering a different theme each week and sharing recipes, a pop quiz and much more.