Volume 15: Government and Public Administration
Glossary

For fuller explanations of some of these terms, and of others elsewhere in the Report, see the main Glossary in vol. 16: Reference Material (or via an electronic link in the website or CD-ROM versions).

ACDP	Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens
ACVO	Assistant Chief Veterinary Officer
ADAS	Agricultural Development and Advisory Service
ADI	Acceptable Daily Intake
AFRC	Agriculture and Food Research Council
AHVG	Animal Health and Veterinary Group, MAFF
ALARP	As Low As Reasonably Practicable
Bill	A draft of proposed legislation presented to Parliament for discussion
BSE	Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Cabinet	The committee of senior Ministers with overall responsibility for government policy
C & AG	Comptroller and Auditor General
CBA	Cost-benefit analysis
CCA	Compliance cost assessment
CDSM	Committee on Dental and Surgical Materials
CEC	Commission of the European Communities
CIEH	Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
CMO	Chief Medical Officer
CRM	Committee on Review of Medicines
CSM	Committee on Safety of Medicines
CVL	Central Veterinary Laboratory (Weybridge, Surrey)
CVO	Chief Veterinary Officer
DCMO	Deputy Chief Medical Officer
DCPO	Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
DDU	Departmental Deregulation Unit
DES	Department of Education and Science
DH	Department of Health (until 1988 part of the Department of Health and Social Services - DHSS)
DHSS	Department of Health and Social Services (see DH)
DoE	Department of the Environment (now the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions)
DTI	Department of Trade and Industry
EC	European Community (see EU below)
EDU	Enterprise and Deregulation Unit
EU	European Union. The European Union came into existence on 1 November 1993 as a result of the Maastricht Treaty. It incorporated but did not replace the European Community.
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organisation
FSD	Food Safety Directorate
GB	The island that comprises England, Wales and Scotland. See also UK
Grades	Senior grades in the civil service (from the most senior downwards) are as follows:
	Grade 1 - Permanent Secretary
	Grade 1a - Second Permanent Secretary
	Grade 2 - Deputy Secretary
	Grade 3 - Under Secretary
	Grade 4 - Executive Director
	Grade 5 - Assistant Secretary
	Grade 6 - Senior Principal
	Grade 7 - Principal
GREA	Grant Related Expenditure Assessment
HACCP	Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
The House	The House of Commons or Lords
HSE	Health and Safety Executive
IEHO	Institution of Environmental Health Officers
ILGRA	Inter-Departmental Liaison Group on Risk Assessment
JCSI	Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
LAA	Local authorities association
LACOTS	Local Authorities Co-ordinating body on Food and Trading Standards
MAFF	Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
MCA	Medicines Control Agency
MDA	Medical Devices Agency
MHS	Meat Hygiene Service
MINIM	Ministerial Information in MAFF
MINIS	Management Information System for Ministers
MP	Member of Parliament
MRM	Mechanically recovered meat
NAO	National Audit Office
NCC	National Consumer Council
NDPB	Non-departmental public body
NHS	National Health Service
NIBSC	National Institute for Biological Standards and Control
NOAEL	No Observable Adverse Effects Level
OIE	Office International des Epizooties (Paris)
PAC	Public Accounts Committee
PCA	Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman)
Permanent Secretary	The most senior civil servant in a Government Department (see Grades)
PES	Public Expenditure Survey
PHLS	Public Health Laboratory Service
PMO	Principal Medical Officer
PPS	Parliamentary Private Secretary
PQ	Parliamentary Question (see paragraphs 3.24 and 8.12)
PS	Private Secretary
Q&A	Question and Answer
R&D	Research and Development
RSG	Rate (later Revenue) Support Grant
RVO	Regional Veterinary Officer
SBO	Specified Bovine Offal (brain, spinal cord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestines)
SBO ban	The ban on SBO in food for human consumption (and later in animal feed)
SEAC	Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee
SMO	Senior Medical Officer
SPMO	Senior Principal Medical Officer
SPSO	Senior Principal Scientific Officer
SRO	Senior Research Officer
SSA	Standard Spending Assessment
SVO	Senior Veterinary Officer
SVS	State Veterinary Service, part of MAFF
TDI	Tolerable Daily Intake
Tolworth	Location (in Surrey) of MAFF's Animal Health Group and of the headquarters of the SVS
UK	United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). See also GB
vCJD	(New) variant CJD (also referred to as nvCJD)
VLA	Veterinary Laboratories Agency
VMD	Veterinary Medicines Directorate
VPC	Veterinary Products Committee
VRO	Veterinary Research Officer
Whip	A political party official appointed to maintain parliamentary discipline among its members
Whitehall	A collective term for the major Government Departments
WHO	World Health Organisation
Zoonosis	An animal disease which can be transmitted to humans