Food Safety Enforcement SERVICE DELIVERY PLAN
2018/19
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Contents
Section Page No. 1 |
Introduction 4
1 |
Service Aims and Objectives
2 |
3 |
4 |
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
4
Service Aims 4 Key service delivery objectives 2018-19 4 National Priorities for Local Authority Food Safety Services 5 Links to the Corporate Objectives and the Corporate Plan 5
Background 6 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
Profile of the Bassetlaw district 6 Council Organisational Structure 6 Scope of the Council’s Food Safety Service 7 Demands on the Food Safety Service 8 Regulation Policy 9
Service Delivery
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
Interventions at Food Establishments 11 Food Complaints 14 Primary Authority Principle 14 Advice to Businesses 14 Food Sampling 15 Control & Investigation of Outbreaks and 17 Food Related Infectious Diseases 3.7 Food Safety Incidents 17 3.8 Liaison with other Organisations 18 3.9 Food Safety promotional work and non official control interventions 19
Resources
4.1 Financial Allocation 20 4.2 Staffing Allocation 20 4.3 Staff Development Plan 20
5 |
Quality Assessment
6 |
5.1 Quality Assessment and internal monitoring
Review Process 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4
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Review against Service Plan 22 Variation from Service Plan 24 Enforcement Action 24 Areas of Improvement 25
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Introduction This Service Plan has been developed by Bassetlaw District Council in line with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Framework Agreement, which requires Local Authorities to produce an annual service plan detailing the Authority’s arrangements for discharging its statutory Food Safety responsibilities. It forms the basis of the Authority’s food business inspection and enforcement functions, and ensures that national food priorities and standards are addressed, as well as locally identified needs.
The production of a Food Service Plan ensures that local food business operators, members of the public, Members of the Council and other agencies understand the approach to food safety inspection, intervention and enforcement adopted by this Authority. This service plan details how the Environmental Health Commercial Team of Bassetlaw District Council plans to undertake its duties and contribute to national targets and locally identified priorities and ambitions. It also demonstrates our commitment to the provision of an effective and value for money service that is fair, consistent, open and proportionate.
1. Service Aims and Objectives 1.1 Service Aims
The aim of Bassetlaw District Council’s Food Safety Service is to ensure, through a combination of inspection, interventions, education and enforcement, that food and drink which is produced, stored, distributed, prepared or sold within the District meets food safety standards and is without risk to health.
We will ensure that all Food Safety law enforcement that is undertaken by Bassetlaw District Council is informed by the principles of; • Proportionality in application of the law and securing compliance • Consistency of approach • Targeting of enforcement action, and • Transparency in how we operate and what duty holders subject to regulation, and the wider public may reasonably expect.
1.2 Key Service Delivery Objectives 2018-19
• To undertake a risk-based programme of official controls and other interventions, in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice (England) and any associated Practice Guidance. Official controls are those undertaken to check compliance with food laws and will comprise visits to premises to undertake food hygiene inspections, audits, sampling, monitoring, surveillance or verification. Other interventions consist of advice, education, coaching and information and intelligence gathering. • To register food businesses in accordance with Regulation EC No.852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs, Article 6(2) • To carry out a program of sampling in accordance with national and locally agreed initiatives.
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• To provide advice, guidance, information and education on matters relating to food safety and hygiene, both pro-actively and in response to requests from food businesses, and the wider residential community, • To respond to complaints concerning food safety.
• To provide a risk-based response to notifications of food related illnesses.
• To publish the scores of Food Safety inspections to the public via the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme website and carry out the inspection and rating of included premises in line with the ‘Brand Standard’.
• To review and update and further develop the content of the Service’s internet pages.
• To participate in National Food Safety Week and any other National campaigns promoted by the FSA • To work with Everyone Health to encourage more businesses to sign up to the Healthy Options Takeaway scheme.
1.3 National Priorities for Local Authority Food Safety Services
Overarching and informing the Local Authority Food Safety Service Plan is the national regulatory and legislative landscape. The Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) is a web- based system used by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for local authorities to report detailed data on all their food law enforcement activities, to the FSA, on an annual basis.
1.4 Links to the Corporate Objectives and the Corporate Plan
The Councils Ambitions are:
Driving Efficiency & Resilience
Supporting Business & Growth
Enhancing Home & Place
The aim of Bassetlaw District Council is to be “A dynamic district where people live, work and prosper and the Council works in partnership with others to develop a better quality of life for all”
The work of the Food Safety Team fits well into the ambition of the Council to “enhance home and place” in particularly it is a priority to use the full range of powers to protect local people and the place they live. Safe and healthy food is one of the most direct and effective ways of improving the quality of people’s lives. The work carried out by the Council’s Food Safety Service contributes to these priorities in terms of providing advice and guidance to new and existing businesses on compliance with food safety legislation and helping to ensure the provision of safe wholesome food within Bassetlaw District. This not only improves the health and wellbeing of the local community but supports local businesses and the local economy.
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2. Background 2.1 Profile of the Bassetlaw district Bassetlaw lies in the north of Nottinghamshire and occupies almost 30% of the county’s area at 63,687 hectares. ONS Mid year estimates (2017) indicate a population of £116,300. It is estimated that 20.1% is aged 65+. The 2011 census indicates 2.7%is from ethnic minority groups. The main economic and population centre’s are Worksop and Retford, with 60% of the population living in one of these two towns The remaining residents live in rural areas in one of the 73 villages in the district; only 17 of these have populations over 1000. The rural communities are very diverse ranging from small market towns and former mining communities, to very small hamlets. The A1/ A1M, which has recently been upgraded, runs the length of the district and provides good transport links to local businesses. The total number of registered food businesses within the district as of 1st April, 2018 is around 1154 which is an increase of 136 premises. The Service receives a steady flow of new businesses which is positive for the District as a whole. There continues to be a steady turnover of businesses, for example premises closing and opening under new management which generates further interventions. 2.2 Council Organisational Structure Bassetlaw District Council has adopted a structure of Cabinet and Leader, with certain Councillors having Portfolio responsibility for specific services.
Cabinet
Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Audit and Risk Scrutiny Committee
Licensing Committee
Planning Committee
Appeals Committee
Appointments Committee Consultation Groups Health and Safety Committee Joint Employee Council
Chief Officers’ Investigating Committee
Standards Sub - Committee
The Environmental Health Service sits within the directorate of Regeneration and Neighbourhoods. The portfolio is Health & Community Wellbeing and the portfolio holder is Cllr Susan Shaw. Overall strategic responsibility for the Food Safety Service lies with the Director of Regeneration and Neighbourhoods. Head of Service for this area is Elizabeth Prime with Andrea Stewart as Environmental Health Manager.
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The Environmental Health Service is split into four teams, Neighbourhoods, Commercial, Housing and Pollution. The Commercial Section of Environmental Health operates the Food Safety Service based in Queen’s Buildings, Worksop.
Current Regulatory Team Structure as at 1st April 2018
Principal Environmental Health Manager (Regulatory)
Environmental Health Officer (Lead food Officer) F/T
Senior Technical Officer F/T
Environmental Health Officer 4 Days
Senior Technical Officer P/T 4 Days
Environmental Health Officer Jobshare 1 day (Vacant as of 1.4.16)
Senior Technical Officer 3 Days (Vacant as of October 2017)
Administrative Officer (IT Systems) F/T
Administrative Officer P/T 3 days Administrative Officer P/T 2.5 days Administrative Apprentice. F/T
This gives a total of 4.4 FTE Officers who deal with Food Safety and Health and Safety at work matters and Licensing inspections. The Lead Food officer is a Full Time Environmental Health Officer within the Regulatory Team. 2.3 Scope of the Council’s Food Safety Service The aim of this structure is to ensure the quality, consistency and prioritisation of food safety matters by enabling effective delivery of all aspects of the Food Safety service. These Regulatory Team officers specialise in dealing with regulatory matters, and are also responsible for health and safety inspections & accident investigations in a variety of commercial premises, as well as infectious disease investigations, massage and other special treatment licenses, animal licensing functions, caravan site licensing and food & water sampling. The food examiner at the Health Protection Agency laboratories at York currently provides specialist analyst services. This arrangement is working well to date and appears to be a better service with more flexibility for the taking of samples. Public Analyst Services are contracted to the County Analysts in Staffordshire. Key functions in relation to food safety: • Risk based inspection of food premises within the district • Other interventions • Investigation of food complaints • Responding to food alerts • Investigating food related illness and infectious disease notifications • Registration of food premises
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• • • • • •
Carrying out an annual food sampling programme Dealing with imported food and its origin Provision of advice and information to businesses and the public Carrying out food safety awareness activities and campaigns Educative work with food business operators Rating Food Businesses under the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
2.4 Demands on the Food Safety Service As of the beginning of April 2018, Bassetlaw District Council had 1154 registered food businesses. The risk profiles of these premises are shown below at Figure 1, and have been determined in accordance with the Food Standards Agency code of Practice. Figure 1 Total Food Premises Risk Rating A B C D E Unrated Outside programme TOTAL
Frequency of Intervention Every 6 months Every 12 months Every 18 months Every 24 months* Every 36 months**
Premises in Category 3 20 117 503 493 11 7 1154
*D rated premises are currently being inspected and are not being subjected to alternating interventions. Due to the implementation of the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme it is deemed most appropriate to carry out inspections of these businesses and it is therefore anticipated that this Authority will continue to inspect these premises as they become due, and not alternate inspections with an alternative intervention strategy. **It is not proposed to inspect all category E premises, but to undertake an alternative intervention and check that they have not substantially changed their level of operation. However, since the implementation of the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme we will be looking closely at the E rated premises and will inspect any that are deemed to require an updated FHRS score Figure 2 Overall rated premises numbers 2013/14 1028
2014/15 1020
2015/16 1151
2016/17 1018
2017/18 1154
Fluctuations in both the total number of registered premises and the risk ratings of those premises is not unusual as, during the course of any year, significant numbers of premises will open, close down or undergo changes of ownership or management or both. These premises are removed from or brought into the risk rated programme as the changes occur throughout the year. This means that the service responds to variations in numbers and alterations to the predicted programme of inspections on an ongoing basis.
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There are several EC approved premises and some other large scale manufacturers in the district, including: • Large National Manufacturer • Cheese maker & exporter • Large/medium scale meat products plants • Large Cook Chill food manufacturer • Large scale vegetable preparation/freezing • Large scale sandwich manufacturers manufacturer • Dairy Products • Ice cream manufacturer The service successfully submitted the return to the Food Standards Agency Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) well before the deadline. The continually improving maintenance of the system has resulted in fewer errors and a more streamlined submission this year. Officers will be working with an organisation called “Everyone Health” in the coming year who will assist in the promotion and sign up of the Health Options Takeaway Scheme by providing a health coach who will visit premise within Bassetlaw. Some previously signed up businesses have closed however the aim is to sign up more premises across the district. Qualified Environmental Health staff, operating from Queens Buildings in Worksop, deliver the Food Safety service. Office hours are between 08:45 and 17.00, Monday to Friday. Evening and weekend inspections and interventions are carried out as determined by risk and service requirements and the premises opening hours. Emergency Food Safety matters are channelled through an out-of-hours emergency number, operating through a call centre. Emergencies would be passed to a senior officer who could contact members of the Food Safety Team if required. Although specialist Food Safety officers could be contacted they are not on duty at all times. 2.5 Regulation Policy Bassetlaw District Council recognises the importance of having a documented policy on food safety regulation and enforcement, including prosecution. This facilitates consistent and fair enforcement of food safety legislation. The Enforcement policy is kept under review and updated as appropriate by the Environmental Health Manager responsible for Food Safety matters with reference to guidance offered by The Department of Health (DoH), The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), The Food Standards Agency (FSA), The Chartered Institute Of Environmental Health (CIEH) and the Local Better regulation Office (LBRO). The most recent Environmental Health Enforcement Policy Document was submitted for approval and was adopted by the Council on the 17th Dec 2010 (minute No 48D). This document will continue to be regularly reviewed by the service and in association with other Nottinghamshire Authorities through relevant food liaison group networks in order to maintain consistency of enforcement nationally and across the Nottinghamshire area. The Environmental Health Service will carry out their duties in accordance with the principles of Good Regulation. The five key principles of regulation, which are now a cornerstone of the better regulation strategy state that regulation should be; transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only at cases where action is needed.
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This means that the Environmental Health Service will carry out their functions in an equitable, practical and consistent manner to promote a thriving local economy, whilst working to secure a safe and healthy environment for all residents and visitors. Enforcement decisions are also determined with reference to the overarching 2005 Council Enforcement Policy document. The Council is committed to achieving its stated aim through a service delivery approach that is designed to: • Help businesses and others meet their legal obligations without unnecessary expense. • Take firm action, including prosecution where appropriate, against those who flout the law or act irresponsibly.
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3. Service Delivery 3.1 Interventions at Food Establishments The Authority’s Programme of Interventions is based on guidance contained within the FSA Food Law Code of Practice 2017. Interventions are key to improving compliance with food law by food business operators. The range of possible interventions allows authorised officers to use their professional judgement to apply a proportionate level of regulatory and enforcement activities to each food business. These interventions will be applied in a risk-based manner so that more intensive regulation is directed at those food businesses that present the greatest risk to public health. Interventions are activities that are designed to monitor, support and increase food law compliance within a food establishment. They include, but are not restricted to, ‘official controls’. In addition to official controls, interventions also include other activities that are effective in supporting food businesses to achieve compliance with food law, such as the provision of targeted education and advice that takes place at food establishments, or information and intelligence gathering. Official controls include monitoring, surveillance, verification, audit, inspection, and sampling and analysis. Interventions that are official controls must provide sufficient information to establish that food-related activities carried out at food establishments comply with food law. Other interventions, i.e. those that do not constitute official controls, include education, advice and coaching provided at a food establishment and information and intelligence gathering. More than one type of intervention may be carried out during a single visit to a food business establishment. This means that, dependent on risk, all premises will receive an intervention that is either an official control, a non-official control or come under an alternative enforcement strategy, within a range of 6 months to 3 years. Approved premises are included within this programme. Officers who inspect premises subject to product specific approval have been appropriately trained to carry out such inspections. This includes officers trained in inspecting and approving cheese processors and dairies. All food safety interventions will be carried out in accordance with the Council’s adopted procedures on food safety inspection and intervention and will meet the objectives of the Food Law Code of Practice and associated guidance. Emphasis will also be placed on the premises compliance with the requirements for a documented control system and on raising standards in premises to meet the criteria for ‘broad compliance’. Category ‘E’ premises Establishments that have been given an intervention rating of category E for food hygiene may be subject to an Alternative Enforcement Strategy. This means there must be an intervention not less than once every three years for food hygiene. This does not preclude full inspection, partial inspection or audit of such establishments, where these are the Authority’s preferred intervention option. It is anticipated that, subject to continuous review, certain of the ‘E’ rated premises, will, at the discretion of the authority, be included in an alternative enforcement strategy during 2018/19. However, those that form part of the food Hygiene Rating Scheme are likely to be subject to inspection, partial inspection or audit. This will help to ensure that ratings published by the authority are as up to date as possible.
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A number of low risk businesses such as village halls that do not store or prepare food have been removed from the inspection programme in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice 2017. The database will be reviewed to ensure only businesses required to be registered and inspected are held on the database. Category ‘D’ premises Establishments that have been given an intervention rating of D for food hygiene should receive an intervention every 24 months. These can alternate between interventions that are official controls and those that are not. However, as most category D establishments also fall within the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme it is anticipated that they will continue to receive official controls that are inspections, partial inspections or audits. This will help to ensure that ratings published by the authority are as up to date as possible. Category ‘C’ premises Establishments that have been given an intervention rating of C for food hygiene should receive an intervention every 18 months. Interventions should consist of an inspection, partial inspection, or audit until such time as the establishment is considered by the Authority to be “broadly compliant” with relevant food law. Once broad compliance has been achieved, planned interventions may alternate between inspections, partial inspections, or audits and other official controls. Category ‘A’ & ‘B’ premises The appropriate planned intervention for an establishment that has been given an intervention rating of A or B for food hygiene is an inspection, partial inspection, or audit. These must be completed every 6 months for category ‘A’ premises and every 12 months for Category ‘B’ premises. Any other additional interventions, such as sampling or education and training, will be recorded against the establishment for the purpose of monitoring enforcement actions is not the primary intervention. Planned Intervention programme 2018/19 Figure 3 Intervention Plan Food Premises Risk Category
Minimum Inspection Frequency
No. of Premises at start of the 2018/19 year
Proposed Intervention Programme for 2018/19
Category A Category B Category C Category D Category E Unrated
6 Monthly Annual Every 18 Months Every 2 Years Intervention every 3 Years To be integrated into inspection programme as appropriate
2 17 76 202 124
4 17 76 202 124
Unknown 421
Unknown 423
Totals
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The number of interventions planned for 2018/19 detailed in the above table is subject to fluctuation due to the opening of new businesses and the change of ownership of businesses. This necessitates additional interventions to be carried out that can be difficult to predict. During the period of April 2017-March 2018 a total of 667 interventions were carried out including 469 inspections/audits, 116 verification/surveillance visits, 57 advice and education visits and 25 sampling visits. New Businesses In line with Food Standards Agency guidance it is the aim of the service to inspect new premises within 28 days of opening, or of our becoming aware of their existence. Following the initial inspection an intervention rating for the establishment will be determined. Inspections of new premises will be prioritised according to perceived risk, and such inspections are in addition to the above figures. Figure 4 Registrations of New Businesses by Financial Year 2014/15 129
2015/16 115
2016/17 139
2017/18 113
Revisits A revisit procedure has been implemented by the service. Premises where a statutory notice has been served, that are found to require significant work to be carried out, that are not ‘broadly compliant’ with food law or that are not meeting the requirements for a documented food safety system will be subject to a revisit within an agreed timescale to check on compliance. Figure 5 Revisits to Businesses by Financial Year 2014/15 168
2015/16 213
2016/17 180
2017/18 143
An estimate of the resources currently available for this years proposed programme of work is detailed in Table 2 below. Figure 6 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Officers, Food Safety 2018/19. Officer
FTE
Environmental Health Manager Environmental Health Officers Technical Officers Administration
0.3 1.4 1.1 0.4
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3.2 Food Complaints Complaints about food, food premises or hygiene practices are investigated as appropriate to the circumstances of the complaint, and are dealt with in accordance with the Council’s adopted procedure. Complaints about food labeling matters are referred to the Trading Standards department of Nottinghamshire County Council in accordance with a countywide protocol. Where new information arises, in the case of a justified complaint or unsatisfactory sampling result, the Authority will consider whether it is appropriate to conduct an inspection, partial inspection or audit to investigate the matter. In 2017/18 the Service dealt with 114 complaints about food or hygiene matters. For the forthcoming year, if the number of contacts received remains within these levels, it is anticipated that about 180 hours (0.1 FTE) of Officer time may be required to deal with food complaints. 3.3 Primary Authority Principle Bassetlaw District Council fully supports and endorses the Primary Authority Principle. The Council acts as the originating authority for eleven medium to large manufacturing premises. We will carry out regulatory visits of any premises that have formed a Primary Authority Partnership with a Local Authority in accordance with the Primary Authority Scheme. The Council is committed to responding positively to enforcing authority enquiries and will endeavor to provide such authorities with sufficient information and help to enable them to make appropriate enforcement decisions. This may include inspecting a food premises in order to carry out on-site investigations where it is felt that this course of action is necessary or appropriate. There can be are large variation from year to year as to the time and resources needed for these activities. It is estimated that these activities may result in a time allocation need of around 80 hours (FTE 0.05). 3.4 Advice to Businesses The provision of advice and guidance to food businesses and to the general public on relevant food safety issues is seen as one of the inherent responsibilities of the Service. One of the Environmental Health Service’s on-going objectives is to maintain an educative approach, where possible, in relation to the enforcement of Food Safety legislation. This includes advice given during routine inspections and also advice given to new or prospective businesses. interventions can be limited. The advisory and educative elements are also often covered additionally to the routine intervention programme. There is a move towards providing information digitally by referring people to the Council’s website which is monitored and updated on a regular basis. This is in line with the Governments “Digital by Default” initiative. Based on past history, it is anticipated that the food service will receive around 150 requests for advice and guidance over the year. The estimated time needed for provision of food safety advice and participation in educative initiatives will be around 320 officer hours (0.2 FTE).
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3.5 Food Sampling The food sampling programme of Bassetlaw District Council consists of: •
A programme of sampling coordinated through the Nottinghamshire Food Sampling Group, a sub group of the Nottinghamshire Food Safety Working Group. This Group is made up of representatives from each Local Authority, Public Health England (PHE) and the Food Examiner based at York Laboratory. The service also takes part in the National Sampling Programmes and when required European sampling objectives.
•
Samples taken outside of the above programmes which are determined on the basis of previous sample results and perceived risk of premises.
•
Samples from Approved premises within the district
Outside of this programme, additional reactive sampling may be undertaken in response to food complaints, food poisoning investigations, and notifications of Legionella. Specific consideration is also given to whether samples need to be taken during routine food hygiene inspection work. It is anticipated that the likely time allocation for these activities will be around 320 hours (0.2 FTE) of Officer time. The cost of analysis of these samples is usually covered by the Council’s allocation of public health laboratory sampling credits. During 2017/18 we achieved a total of 91 samples, which exceeded our target, in fact, again across Nottinghamshire Bassetlaw took the largest number of samples. Full participation in the coordinated sampling programme is an important departmental objective. Around 10% of our samples are of foods imported from countries outside of the EU. For 2018/19 we aim to maintain our sampling activity. The UKFSS System through which our samples are submitted will no longer be supported by the FSA and will go offline in September 2018. Discussions with the lab and software providers are ongoing. Samples are couriered to the HPA laboratory in York. Public Analyst Services are contracted to the County Analysts in Staffordshire.
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Overview of National PHE Studies and York Laboratory Cross-Regional Studies for 2018-19 Figure 7 Sampling Plan 2018-19 Year
2018-2019
Months of sampling M A M J J A S O N D J National Study 62 – Eastern European Foods (Cured Meat) National Study 63 – Reactive Study on Slow Cooking
National Study 64 –Pastry Based Products National Study 65 – to be determined
National Study 66 – reactive study
Cross Regional Studies (XR) XR 33 – Touch Screens and Pin Card Machines XR 34 – Premises preparing milkshakes XR 35 – Minced meat and meat preparations XR 36 – to be determined
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F
M
Approved Premises Months of Sampling
A M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
F
M
Todays Milk Dairy Maloneys Thaymar Farmhouse Choice Sticheltons County Enterprise Westlands Manor Farm (NA) 3.6 Control & Investigation of Outbreaks and Food Related Infectious Diseases The Food Safety Working Group in Nottinghamshire have worked in conjunction with PHE to establish guidelines on response times for investigation, selection of incidents for full investigation and to develop standard questionnaire forms for use by all authorities. This promotes good practice and consistency across Nottinghamshire. We liaise closely with the Public Health England on these matters. A history of reported food poisoning cases is detailed below Figure 8 Reported Food Poisoning Cases
250
Suspected
200
Other Organisms
150
Crypospordiosis E-Coli
100
Salmonella
50 0
Campylobacter 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
2015/16 2016/17
2017/18
Food poisoning levels seem to be showing a decline. Most food poisoning, as shown on the chart is due to campylobacter. It is estimated that work on food and water related illnesses is likely to involve around 80 hours’ work (FTE 0.05)
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3.7 Food Safety Incidents Bassetlaw District Council is committed to playing an active role in the national management of food safety incidents and responding swiftly and appropriately to any food alerts that it receives. Food Law Code of Practice (England) and associated Practice Guidance advises food authorities of the action they should take if a potential problem comes to light. The Council follows guidance from the FSA in respect of all food hazard warnings for action and emergency control orders, and its own adopted procedures for food safety incidents. During the year 2017/18, 65 Product Withdrawal Information Notices were issued by the FSA to let local authorities and consumers know about problems associated with food. Actions resulting from these Notices vary but most Notices are now provided to the authority for information only, however some will still require immediate action from the department. Realistically there has been a reduction in the time spent dealing with these Notices as the system and co-ordination has been greatly improved by the FSA. It is estimated that the resources needed for this function are unlikely to exceed 80 hours of Officer time (FTE 0.05). 3.8 Liaison with other Organisations Bassetlaw District Council works together with other organisations in order to ensure consistent, effective, best value services that meet the needs of our customers. In addition, where requests for service or advice fall under the remit of another enforcing body or agency, the department will forward all relevant information to that organisation and inform the customer of the details they need. Liaison arrangements with other organisations in relation to food safety include: The Nottinghamshire Food Safety Working Group This Group meets on a quarterly basis and is attended by all Nottinghamshire Local Councils and also representatives from Trading Standards, PHE and the FSA. The purpose of this group is to provide effective liaison between Local Authorities on Food Safety matters and a forum to discuss/implement fair and consistent enforcement approaches. The Group also evaluates common training needs and has a co-ordination role for county wide training events. The Nottinghamshire PHE Liaison Group This committee meets on a quarterly basis and is attended by all Nottinghamshire Councils and PHE representatives including microbiologists and infection control staff. The purpose of the Group is to liaise on infection control matters, formulate infection control policy and outbreak control plans. Other Liaison Arrangements
• Regular contact with HPA, DoH, DEFRA, MAFF and FSA, on food safety issues as they arise. •
Sampling group.
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•
Comments given in respect of Public Entertainment and other License applications to Legal and Estates Services.
• Comments given to The Planning Services Department in respect of planning applications involving food premises. • Formal liaison with public bodies, such as, PHE through active participation in the health improvement programme, the Nottinghamshire Infection Control Meetings and the Nottinghamshire Environmental Liaison Committee. • The Public Health Laboratory over sampling regimes and results interpretation. • The Food Standard Agency over the standard and level of performance of the Food Safety Service. • BRDO in relation to Primary Authority Partnerships It is estimated that the resource allocation for these activities is around 320 hrs of Officer time (FTE 0.2). 3.9 Food Safety promotional work and non-official control interventions
Educational and promotional works are considered to be important aspects of the delivery of a comprehensive food safety service. Promotion of food safety issues will be achieved in the following ways: • Targeted advice/information sent to relevant groups on issues of local or national significance. •
With the support of the Education and awareness officer the department will support any initiatives by the FSA and participate in local events at the request of community groups/schools etc.
• With the support of “Everyone Health” we will continue to promote and encourage businesses within Bassetlaw to sign up to the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme. It is anticipated that the above activities will require a resource allocation of around 320 hrs of officer time (FTE 0.2).
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4. Resources 4.1 Financial Allocation Figure 9 Financial Allocation Food Financial Allocations 2018/19
Employees 120,400
Transport
5200
Supplies
800
27500
Central Support
Income
(500)
Net Expenditure The sampling budget is ÂŁ300
153,400
4.2 Staffing Allocation Staff conducting food safety inspections are all EHORB registered and have the qualifications required under the Food Law Code of Practice 2017. It is estimated that the full time equivalent number of posts for all food safety functions detailed in this plan equates to .3 FTE at Principal Officer level, 1.4 FTE at Environmental Health Officer level and 1. FTE at Technical Officer level, plus additional administrative support. At the time of writing the Team Leader is seconded for a period of six months to the role of Environmental Health Manger. There is also a vacancy of 3 days per week following the resignation of a Senior Technical Officer, it has not been possible to date to recruit to the post. It is likely that some interim assistance will be required in the form of contractors until the EHM position is finalised when the overall resource requirements of the team can be examined. Figure 10 Staffing Allocation Officer FTE Time available for Food Safety Environmental Health Manager 1.0 Environmental Health Officers EHORB Registered 2.0 Technical Officers Higher Certificate 1.0 Technical Officer Ordinary Certificate 1.0 Admin 0.8
0.3 1.4 0.5 0.3 0.4
4.3 Staff Development Plan Staff Development and Appraisal meetings are conducted annually, with reviews at six months for all staff and these are used to set performance objectives and to identify any training and development needs of staff. Training and Development needs are ascertained and linked in with corporate objectives. Reviews are undertaken before and after training/development activities in order to ascertain the expectations and outcomes of such activities.
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The Training budget for 2018/19 will be determined corporately and allocated to service areas by the Corporate Management Team. Food safety training needs are prioritised in the context of the wider service requirements identified in the service wide training plan. The Food Safety Officers always meet the requirement for 20 hours CPD in food related training, and usually training far exceeds this minimum requirement. Training is usually a mix of externally provided and corporately arranged training. The Authority subscribes to the East Midlands ‘Five Pack +1’ low cost training, and the Service regularly also send staff to local CIEH arranged low cost training events. In 2017/18 Food Safety Officers benefited from a wide range of training designed to update and enhance skills in all areas. This training is detailed below. The training programme for 2018/19 has yet to be finalised but will include topics identified during the appraisal process. Environmental Health Manager. Figure 11 Training 2017/18 • • • • • • •
Food Inspection Module (University of Birmingham) One officer Consistency Training. 5 officers 5 pack food update. 3 officers CIEH Update Training. 3 Officers Regulating the Future. FSA 1 Officer Public Health Update Emergency Prohibition (Internal)
5. Quality Assessment 5.1 Quality Assessment and Internal Monitoring Bassetlaw District Council operates a quality procedure that lays down monitoring mechanisms to be adopted. The quality of inspections is achieved and monitored by: * Quality procedures for inspections and enforcement * The use of standard reporting formats * Checking of notices prior to service * Monitoring of inspection reports * Evaluation of post-inspection questionnaires * Accompanied visits/inspections * File Monitoring * Consistency checks of computer records The Environmental Health Food Team Leader will take any necessary corrective action. This could include additional monitoring, additional training, inconsistency reviews, suspension or disciplinary action. Any formal complaints made against the service are investigated and monitored in accordance with the Council’s Complaints Policy. There have been no such complaints in connection with food safety enforcement. Officers will participate in any consistency exercises facilitated by the Food Standards Agency to ensure the consistent application of scoring in relation to the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.
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6. Review Process 6.1 Review against Service Plan Food safety inspection performance and broad compliance with food hygiene law are still reported annually as a local performance indicator in the form of the PI score produced by submission of the LAEMS data. 96.83% of interventions due were carried out by the team which represents a solid and consistent work rate. The number of premises in each category within the Food Hygiene rating scheme was also reported quarterly via the pentana performance management system. There are no targets set for these. Performance against objectives and targets contained within the Food Service Plan 2017/18 are detailed below. The annual service plan is the mechanism for reviewing the previous year’s performance. Figure 12 Objectives 2017/18 Aim Continue to participate in a food -sampling programme to include the required level of imported food samples and ensure sampling credit uptake is met.
Anticipated Outcome Take part in National and Regional sampling surveys and also take the requisite number of imported food samples
Achieved? YES
2
To complete all Food Safety Inspections and interventions in line with National and Local targets.
The target for 2017/18 is to carry out 100% of inspections due. Performance levels will continue to be reported through this annual plan as well as through “Pentana” to the overview and scrutiny committee.
96.8% achieved. Positive outcome as resource within team depleted.
3
Operate the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in accordance with the “Brand Standard”
Operate the nationally agreed 6 tier scheme and report ooutcomes throughout the year.
YES
4
Participate in Food Safety Week 2017/18 and seasonal campaigns relating to food safety.
Take part in promotional activities and visits across the district during Food Safety Week and seasonal campaigns.
YES
5
To continue to review all Food Safety procedures and ensure they are up to date and reflect current legislation and internal procedures.
To have reviewed and updated all Food Safety Procedures
YES
6
To continue to review the database to ensure only businesses required to be registered and inspected are held on the database.
Review of the database on a quarterly basis to ensure only businesses required to be registered are held.
YES
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Aim 7 Continue to promote the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme
Anticipated Outcome To continue to promote the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme and aim to sign up new businesses to the scheme and review those currently holding the award as appropriate.
Achieved? YES
8
To review all Food Safety procedures and ensure they are up to date and reflect current legislation and internal procedures.
To have reviewed and updated all current Food Safety Procedures
YES
9
To carry out a review of all category E rated food businesses with a view to ensuring interventions are appropriate
To have reviewed all category E food businesses to ensure the most appropriate, consistent and
YES
For one senior technical officer holding the higher certificate in food inspection to complete the food inspection module in order to assist in complying with the Food Standard’s Agency’s competency requirements under the new Food Law Code of Practice 2015.
Completed
10 To ensure a Senior Technical Officer holding the Higher Certificate in Food Inspection undertakes the Food Inspection Module.
1. Participate in food-sampling programme to include imported foods. The team has actively participated in the food sampling programme which was again led by Sally Holden, Environmental Health Officer. The target set for number of samples was exceeded and in total 91 samples were taken from a variety of premises across the district including higher risk approved premises. Follow up visits were carried out where samples were found to be unsatisfactory which in some cases led to numerous site visits and resampling to ensure standards improved and to protect public safety. 2. To complete all Food Safety Inspections and interventions in line with targets. 96.8% of planned interventions were achieved which is an extremely positive result for the team and a reflection of their hard work and dedication during a challenging year. 3. Operate the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in accordance with the Brand Standard The Council has continued to operate and administer the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in accordance with the Brand Standard. At the time of writing Bassetlaw has 875 establishments rated under the scheme, 865 are rated at 3 (Generally satisfactory) or above. To give further clarification 800 are rated at 5 (Very good) 50 rated at 4 (Good) and 15 rated at 3 (Generally satisfactory).
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4. Participate in Food Safety Week 2017/18 and seasonal campaigns The team promoted the FSA led campaigns throughout the year including Valentines Day, BBQ Safety and Food Safety at Christmas/Love you Leftovers. 5. To continue to review all Food Safety procedures and ensure they are up to date All food safety procedures have been reviewed to ensure they comply with current regulations and will continue to be reviewed. 6. To continue to review the database to ensure only businesses required to be registered are held on the data base. Regular checks and data cleansing exercises are carried out throughout the year to ensure the accuracy of the data base. 7. Continue to promote the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme The team has continued to promote and encourage food businesses to sign up to the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme during routine inspections and although still a challenging area the first fish and chip shop in Bassetlaw has been signed up in the last quarter of the year. 6.2 Variation from Service Plan There are no variations from the Service Plan. 6.3 Formal Enforcement Actions 2017/18 Figure 13 Enforcement Actions Formal Written Hygiene Voluntary Closure Warning letters Improvement Undertakings Accepted Notices
Prosecution
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6.4 Areas of Improvement The following Objectives have been identified for 2018/19 Figure 14 Objectives 2018/19
Objectives
Anticipated Outcome Completion
Date of
1 Continue to participate in a food sampling programme to include the required level of samples and ensure sampling credit uptake is met.
Take part in National and Regional March 2019 sampling surveys and also take imported food the requisite number of imported food samples
2 To complete all Food Safety Inspections and interventions in line with National and Local targets.
A Local PIs is in place to replicate March 2019 the deleted National PI. This is reported Annually. The target for 2018/19 is to carry out 100% of inspections due. Performance levels will continue to be reported through this annual plan as well as internally through ‘Pentana’ to the overview & scrutiny committee.
3 Operate the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in accordance with the ‘Brand Standard’
Operate the nationally agreed 6 tier scheme and report on outcomes throughout the year.
4 Participate in Food Safety Week 2018/19 and seasonal campaigns relating to food safety.
Take part in promotional activities March 2019 and visits across the district during food Safety week and seasonal campaigns such as Valentine’s Day/Christmas/BBQ
5 To continue to review all Food Safety procedures and ensure they are up to date and reflect current legislation and internal procedures.
To have reviewed and updated all current Food Safety procedures.
March 2019 and ongoing
6 To continue to review the database to ensure only businesses required to be registered and inspected are held on the database.
Review of the database on a quarterly basis to ensure only businesses required to be registered are held.
March 2019 and ongoing
7 To continue to promote and sign up appropriate businesses to the Healthy Options Takeaway Scheme.
To sign up a further 10 businesses March 2019 to the scheme and review those and ongoing currently holding the award as appropriate.
March 2019
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