Plant Healthy Standard Setting Procedure

This page outlines the procedure by which the Plant Health Management Standard is reviewed and revised by the Plant Health Alliance Steering Group which is the Governing Body for the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme.

1. Introduction

The Plant Healthy Certification Scheme management welcomes any feedback from stakeholders on any aspect of the Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS) at any time, including this Standard Setting Procedure. Feedback can be given by contacting the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme management.

All feedback and comments received between revision periods will be noted and where relevant, considered at the subsequent review of the Plant Health Management Standard.

To ensure that this Standard Setting Procedure remains fit for purpose it will be reviewed following a revision of the Standard, taking account of any improvements or alterations identified during the Standard revision process.

2. Stakeholders

It is important to the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme that stakeholders are involved in the process of reviewing and revising the Plant Health Management Standard. Plant Healthy Certification Scheme stakeholders include a wide range of representation including governmental, different types of industry organisations, member representative organisations and technical experts.

3. Review and revision of the Plant Health Management Standard

3.1 Standard Review

The Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS) is reviewed at least every three years to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness relative to its objectives. With approval of the Plant Health Alliance Steering Group the PHMS may be revised more frequently, where legislative or scientific/technical advances require an interim review.

The review process considers all feedback received between reviews, any other stakeholder feedback, discussion with the Plant Health Alliance Technical Advisory Group and the Certification Bodies authorized to carry out audits against the Plant Health Management Standard. If a revision to the Standard is necessary the timeline for the revision will be defined, ensuring the process is concluded in a timely manner relevant to the extent of the revision necessary.

3.2 Consultation

A draft of the new version of the Plant Health Management Standard will be available on the Plant Healthy website for consultation, and existing and applicant members will be made aware of the consultation with a request for feedback. The length of consultation will be defined by the scale of the review proposed. Following consultation, the Plant Healthy Technical Team will collate all the responses and revise the Plant Health Management Standard in accordance with the feedback.
The Technical Advisory Group will review the revised Standard.

3.3 Approval

The final draft Standard is presented to the Plant Health Alliance Steering Group for approval.

3.4 Publication

The revised Plant Health Management Standard will be published on the Plant Healthy website at least 3 months before the implementation date. Prior to the implementation date, members and applicants will be able to choose which version of the Standard they are audited against, but all must be audited against the new version from the implementation date. The revised Standard is also sent to all existing and applicant members by email with an explanation of the substantive changes.

3.5 Non-substantive changes

From time to time, non-substantive changes to the Plant Health Management Standard may be needed. There is no need for a formal review process and a notification of the changes will be available on the Plant Healthy website.

3.6 Urgent changes

Where urgent changes are needed to the Plant Health Management Standard the Plant Health Alliance will define the appropriate procedure, at least in consultation with the Plant Health Alliance Steering Group and the Technical Advisory Group. Urgent changes may be required where there are legislative changes that contradict requirements of the Plant Health Management Standard.

4. Decision making

    Where possible, all decisions are made on consensus. In order to reach consensus the Technical Advisory Group will use the following communication methods to establish whether there is opposition:

    1. Face to face meetings
    2. Meetings via video conferencing
    3. Email communication

    For the above communication methods, where a stakeholder makes no comment it is deemed to be acceptance of proposals. Where consensus cannot be reached at the Technical Advisory Group, the Steering Group will be asked for a decision on the proposal. The decision making process of the Steering Group is governed by the Plant Health Alliance Steering Group Terms of Reference.

    5. Records

      Records of all Standard revisions are kept for at least 5 years. This includes comments received from stakeholders as part of the consultation. Where Standard and policy documents are removed from the website, they can be requested by stakeholders by emailing info@planthealthy.org.uk

      6. General information

      Plant Healthy Ltd is the sole purpose company that performs the administrative and legal duties on behalf of the Plant Health Alliance. Plant Healthy Ltd is therefore the responsible entity for revising the Plant Health Management Standard.