DEFRA REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF IFCAS

The Defra Secretary of State has a statutory obligation under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (MACCA) 2009 to prepare a report into the conduct and operation of IFCAs every four years, which is laid before Parliament. They are now collecting evidence to inform the report for the period 2014 - 2018.

The report will assess all IFCAs against their five high level objectives set out in the IFCA Vision and Success Criteria document.

These five high level objectives, known as the "success criteria" in the Call for Evidence, focus on how IFCAs:

? are seen within their wider community, if they work jointly and collaboratively with partner organisations and contribute to the development of regional and national marine policy;

? make appropriate and effective use of assets and comply with Regulatory requirements; if their enforcement practices meet clear standards of conduct and skill;

? manage well their local fisheries resources and meet their environmental obligations;

? appoint their general committee members on merit; if funding is used appropriately and transparently; and

? train their staff, if staff are appropriately skilled and whether they can make fair management decisions and engage in relevant research.

Defra therefore invite you to respond to their 'Call for Evidence' to help them understand how individual IFCAs have worked to meet their duties and demonstrated the local leadership that might be expected of a statutory regulator and have published a questionnaire to help you provide this information, available at: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/fisheries/ifcas-conduct-and-operation-report

Defra anticipate that the final report will be presented to Parliament in early 2019.