Agenda item

To consider the Food and Safety Service Performance report.

The Food and Safety Team Manager presented the report which provided details of the work carried out over the 2023/24 financial year and the work programme for the current financial year.

The Food and Safety Team consisted of four Environmental Health officers, a part time Technical Officer and two apprentices.  In addition to food safety, other work included the licensing of skin piercing, caravan sites, animal welfare and health and safety enforcement.

The New Forest had over 2,000 food businesses, the majority being caterers.  Each business is assessed and given a risk category from A to E.  Category A being the highest risk and E, the lowest risk.  The rating then determined how frequently the business needed to be visited.  Category A rated businesses receive one visit every six months.  The food hygiene rating system was explained where businesses were scored between 0-5 on their hygiene, with 5 having the highest standards of food hygiene.

In the last year, all high-risk food inspections had been carried out of A, B and C rated businesses and nearly all D rated inspections.  The lowest risk, category E had only a small proportion of inspections carried out.

It was highlighted to the Panel that the team were not fully resourced.  The main reason for this was due to the national shortage of qualified people to carry out the inspections.  Recruitment was therefore a challenge.  The Food Standards Agency recognised that local authorities were under pressure to carry out inspections and had enabled officers to work in more innovative ways to achieve the same outcomes and maximise resources.  For example, partial inspections could be carried out and officers could speak to businesses remotely. 

Two apprentices had been appointed to the team and they had completed their first year of a four-year degree in environmental health.  The apprentices were an asset to the team, and whilst not qualified to conduct the inspections, they could carry out sampling, revisits, shadow other staff members, etc.

Members praised the food safety team for completing all high-risk inspections and acknowledged that the employment of apprentices was a positive step towards filling the national shortage of food safety officers. 

The professional qualification to carry out food safety inspections was discussed.  The two apprentices were carrying out an Environmental Health degree and it was felt that this was the best option to obtain a good all-round qualification, however there were alternative ways to obtain the necessary qualification.  A member of the Panel asked about succession planning and whether there would be more apprentices.  The Food Safety Manager in response reported he only had a small team and therefore it might be difficult without expanding the team further to provide the necessary support, however it was something he would like to do.

Further clarity was sought to explain remote access inspections.  The Food and Safety Manager reported that these were only carried out for the lower risk businesses and where technology could be used, for example to look around a kitchen.  It was important to exercise judgement on the most appropriate way to carry out the inspection.  Different techniques had been introduced during the covid pandemic to help officers understand businesses better, for example with questionnaires, and these methods continued to be used, where appropriate.  This information would help to inform officers before any visit and any premises inspection could be more targeted.

A member of the Panel questioned the minimum frequency for category D and E food establishments, recognising that some inspections were outstanding.  It was noted that the Code of Practice set out the minimum timeframe for category D premises as 2 years and 3 years for category E.  Officers had not been able to fulfil this expectation, however these were the lowest risk premises and officers would consider alternative methods to address inspections. It was also highlighted that other local authorities were in a similar position following the covid pandemic.

RESOLVED:

(a)      That the performance of the Food and Safety Team for 2023-24 be noted; and

(b)      That the work plan for delivery of food controls in 2024-25 be supported