Service standards
Our advice is based on information supplied by applicants and
their advisors. The level of our input will depend on the nature of
the application and its complexities.
Pre-application advice from Cefas includes:
- input from our specialists in the fields of benthic (seabed)
ecology, coastal processes, fish resources and regulatory affairs,
as necessary
- relevant Cefas staff meeting with applicants and their
advisors, as appropriate
- advice on survey requirements and methodologies, based on
proposals made by applicants
- advice and comments on documents submitted by applicants
- response to ad hoc technical queries from
applicants
- advice on mitigation measures
- advice on monitoring
- advice on conditions
- liaison with other regulatory bodies, as necessary.
Applicants will be designated a Cefas case officer who, under
normal circumstances, will deal with their pre-application advice
throughout and act as a central point of contact. The case officer
will draw upon relevant expertise within Cefas, as appropriate.
Should a case officer be unavailable, applicants will be
informed when the case officer will be back or provided with an
alternative point of contact.
Cefas office hours are 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday
(excluding public holidays). Case officers will be available during
these periods.
How long will the work take?
Whilst the pre-application stage of an application to extract
marine minerals carries no statutory timescale, the following sets
out the timescales applicants can expect Cefas to work to during
this phase of their application.
We will work within the following maximum timescales, but we
will respond sooner where possible:
| Type |
Timescale |
| Scoping studies |
Within 5 weeks (25 working days) |
| Survey specifications |
| Monitoring reports |
| Draft licence conditions |
| Draft ES |
Within 11 weeks (55 working days) |
| Substantial technical annexes |
| Telephone call/email enquiry |
Within 2 days by return call, in writing or by email |
| Meeting request |
Date to be agreed within 2 weeks (10 days) of request |
Case officers will advise applicants or their advisors at the
earliest opportunity of any change to these timescales (providing
an explanation and revised timescale).
Requests for meetings or discussions on specific issues will be
dealt with on an individual basis to ensure that appropriate
members of staff are available and the application is handled in
the most effective way. Requests for meetings should always be
directed at the case officer, who will provide date options for
meetings within 10 working days of a request being received. Urgent
meetings can be accommodated at our offices in Lowestoft or through
dedicated video-conferencing facilities.
If surveys are to be undertaken in advance of formal scoping,
agreement on their nature and scope should be sought from Cefas.
Failure to do this may require additional surveys to be
commissioned should the baseline surveys later be considered
inadequate.
Making a complaint
Should an applicant have any concerns with the service provided
or the way their application is handled, they should discuss it
with their case officer in the first instance.
Should the applicant wish to take the matter further, the case
officer will provide the contact details of a senior officer who
will investigate the matter. In addition, please see the full Cefas
complaints procedure.
If discussions fail to adequately resolve the concerns,
applicants should discuss the matter with the regulator (the Marine
Management Organisation or the Welsh Assembly Government). The
Cefas case officer can provide appropriate contact details upon
request.
The above information is designed to provide a brief summary of
Cefas' responsibilities with respect to the pre-application and
subsequent phases of the environmental assessment process. However,
it is not intended to provide definitive guidance or to be a
substitute for appropriate consultation with our case officers at
critical stages in the environmental assessment process. This is
especially true at the initial design stage of a scoping study or
environmental survey, when Cefas advice and guidance will be
adapted to meet the circumstances prevailing at individual
sites.
For further information about our pre-application advice, please
contact marineaggregates@cefas.co.uk.
Further information about the relevant regulations may be found
on the MMO and
WAG websites.