Issue - meetings

Members gave consideration to the Food, Health and Safety Work Plan 2023/24. The Council was required to produce and approve a Work Plan that was in line with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Framework Agreement and the Statement of Commitment, agreed nationally, between Local Authority Representatives and the Health and Safety Executive.

The Committee therefore considered such a Plan, which covered all work undertaken within the Housing and Environmental Enforcement work area, relating to Food and Health and Safety. The Plan’s purpose was to set out how the Council delivered its official controls and fulfilled its duties under Food, Health and Safety, Public Health and Drinking Water legislation.

The Plan before Members also reflected the work conducted over the past municipal year. In terms of inspections, the Authority completed over 90% and the last year signified the end of a challenging period, particularly due to the Covid pandemic, requiring redeployment and temporary resourcing. Section 3 detailed the demand on the Service over the last 4 years .and Section 4 detailed the approach which had been taken to inspections during 22/23. It was anticipated that when accounting for both routine planned and unplanned inspections between 274 and 296 food hygiene inspections would be required in the current financial year.

Section 5 of the report highlighted that additional resources may be needed to ensure that the Councils food hygiene requirements was met, along with its health and safety requirements with Section 7 setting out the actions be taken to address this Members were advised that an update report on progress against the Plan and its targets would be provided to the Committee at its December 2023. 

Without any other comment, having been proposed and seconded, upon taking the vote, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that: -

a) the Food, Health and Safety Work Plan as detailed at Appendix 1, be approved.

b) the commencement of a T24 Internal Review of the Food, Health and Safety work area in May 2023, as set out in section 7, be noted.

c) an update on progress against the plan be brought to Regulatory Committee at its December 2023 meeting.