Once the key characteristics have been colour-coded, the varieties are given separate GREEN, AMBER or RED rankings for brewing, malt, distilling and special use.
The revised means with the MMG recommended colour-coding for brewing and distilling potential, together with the minutes form part of the Agenda at the subsequent meeting of the MBC; these are presented by the Chair or Deputy Chair of the MMG.
The revised means form the data-set on which discussions and decisions are based. Once the revised data-set has been cleared by the Chair or Deputy Chair, a copy should be sent to BSPB ahead of the MBC meeting.
See Appeals below
The source data providing results from individual lab results will not be divulged; that is part of the agreement between MBC and the firms/contributing labs. A breeder may ask AHDB or the appropriate MMG Chair to recheck the source data ahead of the MBC meeting.
COMMUNICATING DECISIONS
Data summaries and MMG recommended rankings are sent to BSPB ahead of the summer MBC meeting. Communication between the MBC and AHDB’s Barley and Other Crops’ Committee (BOOCC) is achieved as follows:
The micromalting database is held and updated by AHDB; any revisions to the colour-coding will be recorded by the AHDB staff member attending the MBC meeting. This includes any changes to the colour-coding of candidates. Those who sit on both the MBC and BOOCC should be prepared to provide supporting explanation. The BSPB Secretariat representative attending the MBC should communicate information on those varieties exiting the IBD Approval system or any other decisions involving demotion.
Decisions on progress within the MBC Approval system are published in a press release and circulated to appropriate stakeholders.
APPEALS
BSPB are responsible for passing MMG summaries and recommendations to the breeders. If a breeder wishes to query either the data or the recommendation, he should contact the Chair of the MMG. If it is a data issue, the Chair should check the source data, review what was done by the MMG, respond to the breeder and inform the MBC if a revision should be made. If the breeder is unhappy with the response, he should ‘appeal’ to the MBC, providing a short rationale for his appeal ahead of the MBC meeting, to both the MBC secretary and the BSPB representative. Queries about recommendation follow a similar path. The Chair should check for consistency the summary on which the recommendation was based, respond to the breeder and inform the MBC if a revision should be made. If the breeder is unhappy with the response, he should appeal to the MBC, providing a short rationale ahead of the MBC meeting to both the MBC secretary and the BSPB representative. Appeals against the MMG dataset or recommendations will be taken by the MBC before discussion leading to MBC decisions. The MBC’s decision on these appeals will be final.
For Appeals against other MBC decisions, a small group (at least three) will be nominated at the start of the MBC meeting. These members may contribute to the initial discussions but must not participate in the actual decision-making process. The Appeal Group will be chaired by someone who is technically knowledgeable, normally the Chair or Deputy Chair of the MMG. The other two members should ideally be drawn from non-voting members of the MBC.
MBC decisions leading to a downgrade in a variety’s progress should be reported to the breeder by the BSPB Secretariat representative early in the lunch break. The BSPB representative may give guidance to the breeder on the factors/discussion leading to that decision. If the breeder wishes to appeal, a short rationale for the appeal should be emailed back to the BSPB Secretariat representative in time for the appeal to be presented to the Appeal group for consideration after the lunch break.
The normal grounds for appeal are INCONSISTENCY or FAILURE TO CONSIDER ADEQUATELY THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE MBC. If the appeal is of a technical or commercial nature it will be referred back to the next meeting of the MBC. The decisions of the Appeal group will be final.