EH OFFICER • £34,728–£38,890 • North Northamptonshire Council P27
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HOW ARE WE DOING? Membership survey unpicked
THE MAGAZINE FOR CIEH MEMBERS
LESSONS FROM CONFERENCE Snapshot of the housing sector
www.cieh.org July/August 2021 Volume 36 Issue 6
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CIEH
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Chadwick Court 15 Hatfields London SE1 8DJ www.cieh.org www.ehn-jobs.com
GREENWICH AND FARESHARE WIN AWARD
For membership queries, including change of address:
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020 7827 5815 membership@cieh.org ISSN 0969-9856 EHN is published on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health by Think.
To advertise in EHN, call Paul Prior: 020 7827 9929 p.prior@cieh.org
Editor
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Sarah Campbell editor@cieh.org
Contributing Editor Katie Coyne
Design
Matthew Ball
Chief Sub-editor Sian Campbell
Sub-editor CLIENT
Andrew Littlefield
Client Engagement Director Anna Vassallo
Think Media Group 20 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JW Tel: 020 3771 7200
AMANDA JACKSON, SHUTTERSTOCK
EHN is published 10 times per year and printed on paper made from pulp sourced from sustainable materials. The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of CIEH. All information is correct at the time of going to press. Articles published in the magazine may be reproduced only with the permission of CIEH and with acknowledgement to EHN. CIEH does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers. The contents of this magazine are the copyright of CIEH. Ideas and letters to the editor are welcome. EHN is mailed in a wrapper made from potato starch and is fully compostable. You can even use it in your kitchen caddy.
13
JULIE BARRATT ON THE
14 PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION
PACKAGING PROBLEMS
05 UPDAT E
News Book highlights EHPs’ pandemic work; award for Greenwich EH team and FareShare; stricter air pollution limits from 2022; banning orders for rogue landlords in Camden; CIEH calls for more EH jobs and for better EU exports deal.
EVE RY I S SU E 33 TALES FROM THE FRONT LINE Cardiff Metropolitan University’s outdoor solution to practical teaching in a pandemic.
G O ON L I N E Find your next job at www.ehn-jobs.com, and see how to further your career at www.cieh.org
WWW.CIEH.ORG
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FEATU R E S 10 MEMBERSHIP SURVEY Your views and how we plan to respond. 13 EXPLAINER Julie Barratt sets out her President’s Commission and explains her focus on volunteering. 14 LABELLING LEGISLATION Are businesses offering pre-packaged food ready to comply with Natasha’s Law?
1 8 YOU R CAR E E R Lessons from… the Housing and Health Conference.
2 1 L EGAL BR I E FI NG Opinion Why banning orders don’t work for long. Prosecutions The heavy price of unsafe working.
JULY/AUGUST 2021 / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS 1
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JULY/AUGUST 2021
Welcome, 1
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WELCOME
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The G7 leaders gathered in Cardis Bay, Cornwall, for a summit – while EHPs carried on making a real difference to people’s lives, well away from the gaze of the world’s media
CLIENT
Our survey said ELCOME TO YOUR
W
W HO’S I NS I DE
SHUTTERSTOCK,
summer edition of EHN. Among the features within these pages, we’re sharing with you the results of our CIEH membership survey. It can take a considerable investment of time and energy to complete these surveys. I think the least we can do is to play back to you what we’ve received, so that you know your voice has been heard. But our aim is to do much more than listen and repeat: we will act and improve, guided by what you’re telling us. Thank you. Some of the strongest themes that arise for me are those that are far less tangible than the arrival of EHN on the doormat. As a community of EH professionals, we’re taking seriously the call for a stronger feeling of connection with CIEH; of being recognised and included in a diverse yet cohesive network of peers; and of knowing
KATE THOMPSON “It’s important that [businesses] have a clear understanding of the foods these new [PPDS labelling] requirements apply to”
GAYLE DAVIS “This felt like such an environmental health thing. Our profession is all about problem-solving, thinking outside the box”
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you’re in the right place to learn and to contribute to your profession. That’s why Julie Barratt’s President’s Commission is so important. It launches a fresh range of opportunities to get involved in CIEH, to support your fellow EHPs, and to steer the profession in the right direction. Julie’s creation is a leadership legacy for future presidents to continue advancing the intangible benefits of belonging through practical and meaningful activities. Finally, a hearty farewell to our editor, Sarah Campbell, whose last edition of EHN this is. You can be very proud of your own contribution to the profession, Sarah, and we wish you well for your future.
PHIL JAMES Chief executive JULY/AUGUST 2021 / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS 3
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EHPs need to ‘blow their own trumpet’, new pandemic book urges Practitioners make a vital contribution to society and should shout louder about their achievements HPS’ PANDEMIC work is being highlighted in a book calling for the profession to share their stories and expertise loudly. COVID-19: The Global Environmental Health Experience by Chris Day captures a “moment in history” of the work of EHPs, their employers and professional bodies around the world during the first nine months of the pandemic. It aims to recognise the profession’s
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SHUTTERSTOCK
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It is hoped that the book will inform a future inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic
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“significant contributions” in protecting lives and livelihoods. It makes recommendations to provide “direction” and “inspiration”. This includes calling for a chief environmental health officer for England, but also for EHPs themselves to highlight their work and engage more widely. The COVID-19 book sits within the Routledge Focus on Environmental Health series and is the brainchild of CIEH vice president Stephen Battersby, the series editor.
Professional bodies can and do raise the profile of EH but Battersby argues practitioners themselves “quite often” could do more. He said: “EHPs – we are a funny lot – they are not necessarily reticent, but they’re not necessarily very good at blowing their own trumpet.” Battersby said it required confidence to make that leap. “That you’re not alone – I think that’s probably one of the important things,” he said. It’s also hoped that the book can be used as JULY/AUGUST 2021 / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS 5
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NEWS YOU CAN USE JULY/AUGUST 2021 Follow us on Twitter
Update FareShare: delivering vital food supplies during the pandemic
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MISTAKES IN THE PANDEMIC
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Battersby added: “Even quite early on, I think people were suggesting there ought to be a public inquiry into the whole thing going back this time last year, I suppose, because it seemed already that some mistakes, basic mistakes, have been made on the handling. “And I just thought, ‘well, it would be quite good also if we had something readymade that use could be made of at a time when there was a public inquiry’.” The book’s team gathered evidence using a range of methods including interviews and an online questionnaire but all the data was collected on the basis that it would be anonymised. One of its many findings was that the majority of EHPs considered themselves “well-prepared” to meet the challenges of the pandemic – with comments gathered such as “better than I could have expected” and “hugely” and “massively”. Respondents described drawing from a wide skill set, and from knowledge “they may not have had cause or reason to use for many years”.
‘A PROFESSION OF VALUE’
A local government EHP from Portugal wrote: “I hope that we are seen more in society as a profession with great importance in public health, as a profession of value, with great professionals. I hope that we have appreciation and respect, and that after COVID-19 we will not be forgotten again.” For a 20% discount on the book at routledge.com, please use code FLR40
Greenwich wins community award for helping FareShare Council praised for partnership with food charity to support vulnerable people
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COUNCIL
environmental health team has won an award for outstanding contribution to local communities thanks to its partnership with food charity FareShare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Royal Borough of Greenwich in London has been FareShare’s primary authority since 2017. Between April 2020 and March 2021, FareShare distributed nearly 132 million meals – four meals every second – to approximately 11,000 charities and charity groups across the UK. In Greenwich itself, FareShare provided ingredients for the Community Hub, which fed approximately 300 people per day last summer and ensured local people had home-cooked meals for Christmas 2020. The work was recognised at the Regulatory Excellence Awards 2021, an annual event run by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
Greenwich enabled FareShare “to expand and vary its operations”
Jackie Smith, Greenwich’s cabinet member for community safety and enforcement, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received recognition for our environmental health team’s vital work with FareShare during the pandemic, which has provided a lifeline for so many people in our borough and beyond. This award demonstrates the incredible impact that local authorities can have when working closely with businesses and organisations, and we are
proud to have been able to work together in this way.” Rachel McLean, senior operational compliance and continuous improvement manager for FareShare UK, said that the partnership had allowed the charity to expand and vary its operations during the pandemic. “Because of this work, we’ve been able to continue to put food on the tables of vulnerable people and support local charities in combating the stress and isolation of food poverty,” she added. WWW.CIEH.ORG
SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY, ROB PINNEY
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evidence in the future inquiry into the handling of the crisis by Westminster. Being still in the midst of COVID-19, the plan is also to update it in a year’s time.
Update, 2
Stricter air pollution limits set for 2022 CIEH welcomes measures in England but pushes for WHO guidelines to be legally binding OUGHER AIR
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pollution limits are to be introduced in England by October 2022 along World Health Organization guidelines. The government said it planned to develop a “sophisticated” population exposure reduction target for PM2.5 but that WHO guidelines would “inform its ambitions in shaping these targets”. Westminster made the announcement in response to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report following the death of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2013. A second inquest into Ella’s death found air pollution to be
a contributing factor and she is the first person in the UK, and probably the world, to have this listed as a cause of death. Ella’s mother Rosamund was reported in the mainstream media as welcoming the measures but wanted “more urgency” and said of the wait until the new air pollution limits are in place: “What happens to all the children who are going to die in the interim?” She also said: “The hope was always Ella’s death wouldn’t be in vain, and the hope is it will save future lives.” CIEH, which is a member of the Healthy Air Campaign coalition, also welcomed
the new measures but said it was not enough for the WHO limits on PM2.5 to “inform ambitions” going forward, and that they must be legally binding. Central government has laid out a number of other measures including topping up the Air Quality Grant scheme for English local authorities by £6m. The government also plans to increase public awareness of air pollution, and will review the daily sources of information Rosamund Kissi-Debrah available to the public.
Other proposals include working with charities on longer-term campaigns to raise awareness among vulnerable groups as well as working with traditional and new media companies to extend existing alert schemes. The UK government will consider the effectiveness of a national SMS alert scheme. NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) is to work on asthma management, and the new Office for Health Promotion will look at the public health benefits of reducing exposure to PM2.5.
“More urgency” required to tackle pollution
DATA
FIGURES ON ASBESTOS, POLLUTION AND COVID-19
20 YEARS
since asbestos was banned in construction 83%+ schools in England have asbestos in their buildings (says the Joint Union Asbestos Committee campaign)
WWW.CIEH.ORG
According to a survey from the Freedom to Breathe campaign – run by Global Action Plan charity and air purifier firm Blueair – children are almost as worried about air pollution as COVID. Children from the UK, China, India and the US took part in the research.
67%
of children were worried about the impact of air pollution on their health
72%
of children were worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their health
93%
of the world’s children under the age of 15 are breathing air so polluted it poses serious risks to their health and development
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Almost a quarter of EHP jobs in England lost over a decade
‘Renewed interest in external health threats should generate interest in the profession for years to come’
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IEH HAS
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renewed calls to increase funding for environmental health work, boost training and apprenticeships to ensure the future generation of talent, and campaign for a chief EH officer for England. New analysis of the CIEH workforce survey data, originally published in April, found 1,000 EH roles have been lost in England over the past decade across food standards, food hygiene, health and safety and environmental protection – excluding public health and housing roles. With a total of 3,300 EHP jobs in England, this represents a reduction in capacity of almost a quarter. CIEH hoped to highlight the vital nature of the sector by laying out its workforce survey findings and recommendations in a parliamentary briefing for MPs. Environmental health was mentioned as part of this year’s G7 summit proceedings. G7 health ministers, including Matt Hancock, met earlier this month in Oxford and pledged to
G7 leaders include EH in discussions
OTHER POINTS IN PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFING INCLUDE:
“It’s good to hear that G7 health ministers are focusing on EH” work together to improve early identification of animal and environmental health – in its broadest sense – threats to prevent diseases spreading. CIEH policy and campaigns manager Tamara Sandoul, author of the survey, said: “It’s good to hear that G7 health ministers are focusing their attention on global health security in the context of climate change, environmental
health and infectious diseases. COVID-19 has certainly changed the political landscape as well as the mindset of governments across the world and it is a big step forward to hear the mention of environmental health at a global leadership event like the G7. “This renewed interest in external threats to health should help to generate interest in the profession for years to come.”
l Increase financial support to local authorities (LA) to maintain resources for regulatory and public health work. l MHCLG to assess the resourcing needs of LA private sector housing function. l HSE to highlight resource shortages and the important role of LAs in this arena, and campaign for targeted funding. l HSE to share resources with LAs. l Implement all the recommendations from the ongoing cross-government regulatory review. l MHCLG to support CIEH in recruitment campaigns. l Introduce LA ring-fenced funding to support EH trainees and apprentices. l Food Standards Agency to continue training on food inspections, dealing with Brexit and novel foods.
CAMDEN COUNCIL SECURES LANDLORD BANNING ORDERS
Camden Council has secured two banning orders against rogue property agents who were previously fined £70,000 for letting an unlicensed and unsafe home. Simple Properties Management Ltd and its director, Miguel Cabeo Cespedes, 50, of Windsor Ave SW19, were given banning orders last month which prohibit them from letting any
housing and engaging in letting agency or property management work in England. The company received a ban for five years and Cabeo Cespedes for three years. Cabeo Cespedes is also banned from being involved in any company that carries out letting or property management work for that period. The banning orders will take effect in six months’ time and, if
8 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS / JULY/AUGUST 2021
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breached, penalties can include imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a court fine or both, or a civil penalty of up to £30,000. The judgment follows a hearing in February 2020 which found Simple Properties Management and Cabeo Cespedes guilty of operating an unlicensed HMO and breaching safety regulations. The resulting penalties included a £40,000 fine for the business and a £30,000 fine for Cabeo Cespedes.
Camden Council has now secured three of four banning orders issued in London, including the capital’s first ever rogue landlord banning order. The council’s cabinet member for better homes, Councillor Meric Apak, said: “Around a third of Camden residents rent from private landlords and they deserve to live in properly regulated and safe homes.” l Read a legal analysis of banning orders on page 21
WWW.CIEH.ORG
Br br “c re fo
Update, 1 Brexit has brought “crippling” restrictions on food exports
Industry group in urgent call for streamlined EU exports
CIEH is part of group appealing for renegotiated veterinary agreement and removal of ‘archaic bureaucracy’
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years has been spent by EHPs and official veterinarians certifying food products for EU export in the first quarter of 2021, according to a report from an industry group. The SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) Certification Working Group – representing food and feed hauliers, farmers, vets, and environmental health – is calling for urgent action by Westminster to renegotiate a new veterinary export agreement with more streamlined processes with the EU. Its report, Minimising SPS Friction in EU Trade, outlines some of the problems and proposes measures to help lift the “crippling” restrictions on EU exports. The report found a staggering 99.3 years has been spent certifying products alone, based on each consignment taking around two hours to issue WWW.CIEH.ORG
export health certificates (EHCs). This figure does not take into account the time spent on additional administration by exporting companies or by the Animal and Plant Agency (which issues the EHCs) or the extra time needed by hauliers to get produce through.
SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES
MP Roger Gale, who chaired an evidence session of the cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission on this issue, said: “This important report highlights the systemic challenges facing food exporters and the need for urgent solutions. “This will all help inform the cross-party recommendations we are developing on how current barriers to trade with the EU can be addressed.” While a drop in exports immediately following EU
withdrawal were explained away by Westminster as “teething problems”, the problems have not gone away. The Office for National Statistics reported a drop in exports of £8.9bn in the first quarter of this year. Yet full SPS import controls, which will likely worsen the situation, have not yet come into force as the UK is still in a grace period until 2022. While the latest mainstream headlines around EU-UK trade difficulties resulting in a “sausage war” make the situation sound almost comical, it is having serious consequences for UK business, and fuelling problems around the Northern Ireland Protocol. CIEH is a member of the SPS Certification Working Group and its Northern Ireland director Gary McFarlane said: “It is important that alternative markets and trade deals are
“The ONS reported a drop in exports of £8.9bn in the first quarter of this year”
created to compensate for the loss of trade and income to our sectors that came from our EU market share. “Part of this is to negotiate a form of mutual veterinary agreement with the European Union, which would ease the problems of trading food and feed between Great Britain and the EU, Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and from EU to Great Britain, when import controls take effect. “It is important that the government acts to implement SPS’s recommendations and resolve the severe restrictions to exports that have arisen post-Brexit.”
RECOMMENDATIONS
The report makes a number of recommendations around improving the current system to “remove archaic bureaucracy”; reviewing requirements for inspection and certification; and negotiating a mutual veterinary agreement with the EU.
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Your membership VERSION REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION
CIEH IS LISTENING TO YOU
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Almost 1,500 people took part in CIEH’s membership survey in March. You told the organisation what you like about your membership – and where it’s falling short. Here’s what you said, and what CIEH is doing about it. WHO ARE YOU?
65%
have been members for 10 years or more
87%
WHY DID YOU JOIN CIEH?
50/50 There’s an equal gender split
81%
are based in England
work in the public sector
62%
88%
have an EH degree
60%
are aged 40-60
are white
67%
work full time
However, membership is starting to change. New joiners are younger, more ethnically diverse, more likely to be female, less likely to work in the public sector and slightly less likely to be based in England. 10 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS / JULY/AUGUST 2021
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Main reasons for joining among recent joiners (joined in the past two years) are career development and professional status.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT CIEH MEMBERSHIP?
THE MAIN INFLUENCE ON YOUR DECISION TO JOIN:
The most important benefits to you are access to best practice, professional recognition and the free webinars that CIEH started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Scale of importance 1 to 10)
Employment requirement 32.1%
Best practice and latest news 7/10
Reputation of CIEH 25%
Professional recognition 6/10
CIEH website 11.2%
Free webinars 5.3/10
Recommendation 10.7%
Getting involved 5.1/10
CIEH presentation 5.1%
Professional development 4.6/10
Other 15.8%
EHN magazine 4.6/10
The survey asked members what they thought reasons for not joining CIEH might be. They suggested: cost, a lack of benefits, the fact that it isn’t a requirement for all employers, and CIEH’s lack of public profile.
Networking 4.6/10 Influence policy 4.3/10 Discounts on events 3.8/10 WWW.CIEH.ORG
Membership survey, 1 All in a day’s EH work (clockwise from top left): • COVID assistance • Dock deliveries • Safety inspections • Noise monitoring
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CIEH?
Overall, you agreed most with the statement ‘CIEH supports the profession’ (Scale of agreement 1 to 10) CIEH supports the profession 7.2/10 CIEH is relevant 7.2/10 CIEH has a strong voice 6.6/10 CIEH is forward thinking 6.6/10
WHAT COULD CIEH BE DOING BETTER?
YOU SAID YOU WANTED MORE FROM CIEH IN TERMS OF: l Accessible research l Cheaper or free training/CPD l Local support/forums l Mentoring l Promotion of profession
CIEH speaks on my behalf 6.3/10 CIEH has good visibility 6.1/10 CIEH membership is good value 5.8/10
>70%
have attended webinars in the past year. You rated them more than 8 out of 10
WWW.CIEH.ORG
AND LESS… l Centralisation l Political bias/opinion l Postal communications High fees were one of the main reasons for allowing membership to lapse. However, 65% of lapsed members would consider rejoining.
WHAT IS CIEH DOING WITH THIS INFORMATION?
It’s clear that you value recent innovations such as the webinars highly – but there’s still work to do to make sure you’re getting value from your membership.
SO CIEH IS GOING TO FOCUS ON THREE MAIN AREAS:
Community engagement: using technology to get members together. CIEH President Julie Barratt is using her presidency to focus on creating meaningful opportunities to volunteer and support each other (see page 13). Diversity and inclusion: reflecting who members are and promoting opportunities to participate in CIEH activity. And continuing to listen. Relevance and focus: concentrating on professional identity, demonstrating to employers and to members the benefits of being a part of CIEH.
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‘My aim is to re-engage volunteers. I know the enthusiasm remains’
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CIEH President (and chief volunteer) Julie Barratt explains her vision for her term of office – and for the future of the organisation
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his year sees the start of the CIEH President’s Commission. This is a programme that will be handed from President to President through which they will take forward projects personal to them that will define their term. The role of President is specific: to be an advocate for the profession and for CIEH, to provide a touchstone and sounding board for the organisation and to engage with members. Each President will also bring to the role their own areas of interest, which will complement the job that they undertake on behalf of CIEH. Just as the President is the visible face of CIEH, the President’s Commission will be the visible roadmap of the President’s term, showing their ambitions and aspirations for their time in office. Members will be able to engage with the work of the President by suggesting or supporting projects, promoting aspirations or helping to deliver outcomes. It will be light on its feet, capable of evolving quickly and delivering tangible results.
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MY COMMISSION: A NEW FOCUS ON VOLUNTEERING
As the first custodian of the President’s Commission I want to use it as an opportunity to encourage as many members as possible to engage with CIEH by volunteering their skills, knowledge and experience to support fellow members and the organisation. Dr Huw Brunt, chief environmental public health officer for Wales, once remarked that “None of us knows as much as all of us”, and I firmly believe that to be the case. WWW.CIEH.ORG
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CIEH members have a long history of volunteering and the recent Membership Survey (see pages 10-11) shows that the enthusiasm to volunteer remains. The altruistic desire to help in some way is core to most of us: perhaps it is subliminally part of being an EHP? I propose to commence my stewardship of the President’s Commission by seeking to re-engage members in a number of volunteer roles. Some roles are new, some are not, but all are valuable and appreciated.
employee of CIEH, so I know just what volunteers bring to the organisation and the profession. The ambition of my President’s Commission is to re-engage volunteers, which should be to the benefit of all our members and to CIEH. I hope and believe that I am pushing at an open door. If you want to give something back, bring something to the party or just get involved, please volunteer.
Email me at president@cieh.org and visit www.cieh.org/presidents-commission for further details
We are establishing a mentor network, where members will be able to share their experience with others who want to achieve what they have. There will be three types of mentor: ●● for students ●● for EHPs who want to progress from middle management to higher levels ●● for individuals who propose to become self-employed.
1
There are also roles for members to help CIEH develop new EHPs. The emerging EHP Portfolio requires assessors and interviewers and there are many EHPs who have done this in the past. If you were one of those, you know how important the role was so please consider offering your services again. If you were not, but are interested, please volunteer.
2
We’re created a toolkit of resources for EHPs to tell young people about the profession (visit www.cieh.org/ careers-resources). You’ll find what you need for hosting careers talks, school assemblies or university open days – to be enhanced, of course, with your own experiences, anecdotes and enthusiasm. I have been a volunteer and an
3
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President's commission, 1
CIEH President’s Commission
Allergen legislation VERSION REPRO OP
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Natasha’s Law requires food businesses to provide full ingredient and allergen labelling on foods pre-packaged for direct sale on the premises from 1 October. But how are preparations going?
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Information Amendment stems from the death of Natasha EdnanLaperouse, a teenager who had a fatal allergic reaction to sesame in a baguette bought from a Pret a Manger outlet at Heathrow Airport in 2016. The legislation is intended to give allergy sufferers more confidence in the food they buy. It’s thought the absence of any allergy warnings is what prompted Natasha to risk it. The changes will apply to all businesses selling food products pre-packaged for direct sale (PPDS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similar changes are expected to follow in Scotland. Businesses have had almost two years to prepare, but Lisa Ackerley, food safety adviser at UKHospitality, says the timing is frustrating. “Businesses have only just reopened. During the pandemic many technical people were on furlough, so couldn’t prepare. Now, their priority is ensuring premises are COVID-secure so it is very disappointing that the date for the PPDS labelling hasn’t been pushed back.” CIEH director for Wales Kate Thompson is also concerned. “Some businesses may 14 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS / JULY/AUGUST 2021
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have lost sight of the deadline,” she says. “It’s important that they have a clear understanding of the foods these new requirements apply to. We’ll be reliant on food businesses staying on top of ingredient changes and, in turn, they’ll be reliant on suppliers. If the supplier has an emergency and switches a product, it will be down to the communication between the two. There’s a risk if anything changes, particularly if businesses pre-print labels.”
RAISING AWARENESS
Arvind Thandi, team leader of Food Hypersensitivity at the Food Standards Agency, says a recent study found that only 64% of food businesses selling PPDS foods were aware of Natasha’s Law. This is despite the FSA helping businesses and local authorities prepare for the changes. However, Thandi does report a 38% increase in the number of people completing the FSA’s food allergy and intolerance e-learning course and she says
“A recent study found that only 64% of businesses selling PPDS foods were aware of Natasha’s Law”
the FSA will soon be launching more information on its website, including practical examples that are relevant to different sectors. But will this be enough? Compass UK&I is a large, diverse caterer that operates across business, industry, schools, hospitals, sports stadia and events. Christopher Moore, HSE director (North Region & Chartwells), says preparation for the amendment has proved complex. “Menus and recipes can change on a daily basis. In a secondary school, there could be 500 children to feed in a one-hour lunch window, so the ‘grab and go’ element is important. We estimate PPDS could make up 30-40% of Compass’s overall offer.” He says most units draw recipes from a central database and construct meal plans in advance. One challenge for the business has been to update the ingredients and allergens that sit behind each recipe, as there are 720 suppliers and something like 20,000 individual food items. He also worries about the pressure on operational teams to produce labels on the day. “We need to promote the fact that labels should be produced on the day of production – not in advance. Otherwise you run the risk of an ingredient change making the label incorrect,” he says. “Also, many of our kitchens are not purpose-built to WWW.CIEH.ORG
SHUTTERSTOCK
WORDS BY STEVE SMETHURST
Labelling feature, 1
CHEESE AND HAM USE BY 10TH AUGUST 2021
£4.50
WWW.CIEH.ORG
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Labelling feature, 2
Allergen legislation VERSION
FHRS AND OTHER OPTIONS
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“There have been suggestions that control of allergens should be considered under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS),” says Kate Thompson. “My view is it might not be the best way to inform consumers. “If it did come under FHRS and a food allergy sufferer saw a rating of 3 or 4, where would it leave them? To my mind, it’s got to be something that’s more ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. Allergy UK, for example, has developed an Allergy
Aware Scheme which might be more useful to consumers,” she says. UKHospitality has suggested having a large purple sticker on every PPDS item saying ‘Made in house – ask about allergens’. Lisa Ackerley says: “The information only needs to be there for people who have food hypersensitivity, so surely the best way to address this is by engaging people in dialogue and making food to order for those who have to be careful?” Labels need to itemise ingredients and allergens
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someone forgets to change the labels, or they don’t check it carefully enough?” He’s also concerned about crosscontamination, which isn’t covered by the legislation. “It’s really difficult in these very small kitchens to be able to give a guarantee that there’s no trace of a particular allergen in a product somewhere.”
RISK AS A WHOLE
Enforcement will be carried out by a mixture of trading standards and EH, and Thompson highlights that many EHOs have been focused on the COVID response, “so a lot of officers who would otherwise have been involved in food work … may not have had the time or resource to help local businesses prepare for the changes.” This is familiar to Alun Thomas, specialist EH officer at Monmouthshire County Council. He tells EHN: “During COVID, we were mostly called into the Test and Trace team, but we’re back now and have done some training.” He says questions from his team have focused on the meaning of ‘wrapped’. “If you have a flatbread, for example, with one end sticking out of the packaging, is that wrapped? Our conclusion is that it seems to be more to do with whether the food can be changed before it’s sold to the
“We are enforcers, but if somebody is making an effort to get it right, we will help and support them”
consumer rather than the completeness of the wrapping. If we have any doubts come October, we’ll bring it back to the team and we can ask the FSA for advice,” he says. As for local businesses, he says their reaction ranges from panic through to ‘it’s just another thing that we have to do’. Ackerley raises the point that EH officers will struggle to judge the descending order by weight of a sandwich and whether the ingredients are listed and the allergens all identified. “The only way to do it accurately is to send it to a laboratory for analysis. Is there a budget for that?” she asks. Thomas says his approach will be that Natasha’s Law ties in with the normal HACCP-based checks on preparation, cross-contamination, storage and training. “There’s a danger that businesses will focus on compliance but I want everyone to look at risk as a whole. [With] labelling, my main concern would be whether the allergens are suitably emphasised.” However, he acknowledges that food businesses have had it tough. “We are enforcers, but if somebody is making an effort to get it right, we will help, support and encourage them.”
FURTHER INFORMATION Allergy Action: allergyaction.org UK Food Labelling Resource: natashas-law.com FSA introduction to PPDS: www.food.gov. uk/ppds CIEH/TiFSiP white paper on ‘may contain’ statements: www.cieh.org/media/1234/ lmproving-the-use-of-may-contain-allergenstatements.pdf
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facilitate product flow or segregation and, therefore, we still need to use precautionary information to our customers referencing that meals are made in open-plan environments within which allergen ingredients are handled.” (See further reading, CIEH’s white paper.) Moore acknowledges that the picture is very different for smaller outfits. “A high-street cafe might change its menu plan weekly but won’t have the luxury of a massive database sitting behind its recipes. These labels cannot be handwritten easily. Ingredients have to be listed in weight order, you need brackets and commas in the right places and allergens in bold. It will be challenging to get the quantity and accuracy of information on to a label.” Jim Winship, director of the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association, fears many small businesses will struggle to meet the deadline. “They’ve been so focused on COVID. We’ve done a number of things to try to make businesses aware of what they need to do, but the very small businesses out there might not be members and they’re just not tuned into it. Even among members, 30% were unaware of the deadline when we surveyed them earlier in the year.” Winship explains that sandwich bars will typically buy ingredients from their local cash and carry or supermarket. “One day they might get a particular type of mayonnaise, another day it’s not available, so they choose something else, which can change the allergen content of the product significantly. They’ve got to know how to change the labelling systems. But what if
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LEGACY OF A TRAGEDY Grenfell looms large over the future of fire safety legislation
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1 2 L E S S ONS FROM T H E
CIEH’s online event took a broad view of the sector. Here’s a snapshot of what was discussed 1. “FUNDAMENTALLY WHAT IS REQUIRED IS A REFORM OF THE LAND ECONOMY”
CIEH vice president Stephen Battersby said that planning reforms and stamp duty holidays were not going to solve the problems of small, overcrowded housing in the UK. The pandemic has shown “in the starkest terms” that “run-down homes result in run-down people”.
2. “SECTION ONE OF THE FIRE SAFETY ACT IS REALLY THE IMPORTANT BIT”
Richard Lord, director of Housing Audit Services, said: “This really clarifies and takes away any sort of confusion about what is defined as the
common parts of a building. So individual flat doors, external cladding, windows and balconies all fall into scope.” He also said he always carries a couple of pound coins in his pocket when on inspections. “We all know there shouldn’t be any more than about a 4mm gap between [a fire door] and the frame,” he said. Pound coins are 2.8mm thick, so if you can fit two in a gap it’s too wide.
3. HHSRS COULD BENEFIT FROM A REBRAND
RHE’s head of consulting, Alan Davies, outlined findings from the first six months of the review of the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS), including feedback from more
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than 360 landlords, 300 EHPs and 150 tenant representatives. A name change could help to promote wider engagement with HHSRS, stakeholders said.
strengths, which is about removing hazards.”
4 .“WE HAVE AMASSED A GREAT DEAL OF INTELLIGENCE BY SIMPLY GETTING ACROSS FAR MORE THRESHOLDS THAN BEFORE”
“Councils typically hold vast amounts of data from citizens but it’s not always accessible to all teams. Moving forward, we believe that councils will make the biggest strides in using data across the council,” said Martin Bradbury, regional account manager at CIVICA.
Phillip Stanley, from Liverpool City Council’s private sector housing team, spoke about the city’s licensing scheme. He said: “We’re confident we know where the problems are in the city, the wards, even particular landlords. “We feel that any scheme that we’ve had in licensing terms should play to our
5. COUNCILS WILL USE
DATA TO DELIVER MORE PERSONALISED SERVICES
6. “WE TRY TO USE CIVIL PENALTIES WHEREVER WE CAN”
Adrian Chowns, property licensing and housing enforcement manager at WWW.CIEH.ORG
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CIEH 13th Housing and Health Conference
7. “THE RULES OF THE GAME […] WILL BE THE UPDATED CONSUMER STANDARDS”
Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, said that the regulator will undertake annual reviews to see if social landlords are at risk of non-compliance. This is a big change because currently it has to wait until somebody says they think they are at risk. It will also carry out a rolling programme of four-year, assurance-based inspections.
8. “THE HOUSING COMPLAINTS PROCESS IS OVERCOMPLICATED”
“Safety in the home has to be the absolutely fundamental guiding principle between the landlord, whatever tenure, and the tenant,” said James Prestwich, director of policy and external affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing. It’s not always clear to a tenant who they should complain to: the Regulator of Social Housing, or the ombudsman? The social housing white paper seeks to simplify the process.
9. “GIVEN THAT SO MANY FAMILIES ARE NOW LIVING IN THE [PRIVATE RENTED] SECTOR, IT’S JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH”
With one in four homes considered non-decent, the PRS “is just not fit for families to live in”, said Deborah Garvie, policy manager at Shelter. As rents have soared, and with the benefit cap, it can be better to put up and shut up than face leaving their communities, and for children to have to move school. WWW.CIEH.ORG
10. “TENANTS AREN’T REALLY AWARE OF THEIR RIGHTS AT ALL”
David Smith, partner at JMW Solicitors LLP and legal counsel at the National Residential Landlords Association, said that there’s a concentration of properties in fewer hands so “we are losing some of the accidental/ occasional landlords”. He added: “It’s really difficult to get to the tenant community and tell them of their rights.”
11. “FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT TWO YEARS IT WAS LEGAL IN ENGLAND TO BUILD HOMES THAT LACKED WINDOWS”
Permitted development rights are systemically resulting in slum homes, but so is the planning system, said Daniel Slade, policy and projects manager at the Town and Country Planning Association. He added that one in five large-scale developments should have been denied, judged against the government’s own national planning policy framework.
C I E H ON L I N E EV E N T S WORKSHOPS
HHSRS: damp, mould and excess cold 6, 7 July HMO Practical Inspection 13, 14 July Understanding and applying HHSRS 26-27 July, 15-16 September Improving outcomes and supporting people with hoarding behaviour 14 September
14 July Wind farm noise assessment 20 July Vacuum packing 21 July, 15 September, 13 October LGA COVID-19 – outdoor events guidance 21 July Works in default 22 July Control of listeria in food processing 27 July, 14 September Food allergen precautionary labels 29 July, 7 September, 5 October
CONFERENCE
CIEH Noise Conference 23-24 September INFORMAL NETWORKING
Port health coffee and catch up 8 July Housing coffee and catch up 2 September WEBINAR
Eggs and safety – managing the risk 12 July BITESIZE TRAINING
Food allergen enforcement and compliance
BO OK ON L I N E AT www.cieh.org/events SPOT L IG HT ON
12. “FROM 148 HOUSING INSPECTIONS, WE FOUND 65% OF PROPERTIES FAILED DECENT HOME STANDARD”
Hull City Council’s John Bower and Christopher Dearing said their team tries to give a voice to tenants. “Behind each [property] is a vulnerable person who needs support to get by and isn’t really getting a fair deal from their supported accommodation provider,” they said. While the team took extensive enforcement action to boost standards, it also developed a supported housing provider’s charter, outlining minimum as well as aspirational standards, and introduced peer networking and free training.
PARTNERING SPONSOR
The pandemic has highlighted air quality concerns
Bitesize training: Developments in air quality post-COVID When is it? 14 July, 10am–12pm Who is it aimed at? EHPs; anyone with an interest in air quality issues. What will I learn? This event will explore two key topics in air quality: the legacy of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on air quality policy and the key challenges faced in meeting emission reduction targets of
large-scale construction projects. The speakers will highlight some of the key challenges of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway, and discuss what effective mitigation looks like. How many hours of CPD? 2 hours How much is it? CIEH member: £45 Affiliate member: £99 Non-member: £99
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Coventry City Council, said that his team’s policy is generally to pursue fines rather than prosecute. “The beauty of civil penalties is that we are able to fine people usually considerably more than if you took them to court. And that money comes to us,” he said.
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WHO’S IN CHARGE? Companies are often intertwined to make it difficult to work out who is responsible for rental properties
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Tangled web of property management companies means banned landlords may only be out of action temporarily
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Written by GILES PEAKER
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Banning orders: effective but for how long? HE RECENT
banning order against Simple Properties Management Ltd (SPM) and its director, Miguel Cabeo Cespedes, was in some ways an example of the Housing Act 2004 regime (as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016) working well. Camden Council brought the application based on convictions in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court of SPM and Mr Cespedes for having control of or managing an unlicensed property, and failures to comply with the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 for fire safety defects, including an unsafe partition and a washing machine with exposed wiring. That had resulted in fines totalling £70,000.
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In addition, for context, Camden could point to Del Rio Sanchez v Simple Properties Management Limited (2020), a civil claim for unlawful eviction successfully brought by a tenant (described by SPM as a licensee) and a conviction against SPM in 2019 for an unlicensed HMO. Lambeth Council provided evidence of its investigation into SPM’s unlawful eviction of tenants from a property once investigations for it being an unlicensed HMO had started.
SUBLETTING OPERATIONS
SPM’s operational model was to rent a property for subletting, in a classic ‘rent to rent’ way and then, where possible, alter the property to add more ‘rooms’. They then purported to grant ‘licences’ for the rooms, most often to foreign
students, which were complete shams as tenancies. No deposit protection or other tenancy requirements were complied with and properties were frequently unlicensed as HMOs. SPM and Mr Cespedes were banned for five and three years respectively. The problem is that they’ll be back. Simple Properties London Ltd (a company with a different sole director, operating from the same offices) was convicted at the same time as SPM for the same offences. As a Rent Repayment Order decision on an unlawful eviction (Gonzalez v Simple Properties London Ltd) shows, there are many such intertwined companies, all doing the same thing. In that case, the tenant signed up with Bricklane Management Ltd.
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FLAT FRUSTRATIONS Sham licences leave tenants unprotected
PRO S ECUT IONS This month’s selection of interesting cases and the lessons learned
Incorrect spacing of lifting forks can prove catastrophic
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London Homes Property Management Ltd was said to be ‘host’. The rent was supposedly paid to London Homes Property Management Ltd, but the bank account details were those of Simple Properties London Ltd, and the latter was paying the property owner. The owner thought he had let to Collection and Management Services Ltd, but that there had been several assignments of that interest since. And some of the people involved in Collection and Management Services Ltd also seemed to work for Bricklane Management and Simple Properties London. Simple Properties London carried out the unlawful eviction.
SHAM LICENCES
Then Simple Properties Management Ltd had ‘taken over’ properties and sham licences from Lifestyle Club London Ltd, which had gone into liquidation at about the time that Lifestyle Club LSC Ltd (trading as Lifestyle Club London) and Lifestyle Club Ltd were both prosecuted for sham licences by Trading Standards and also went into liquidation. All with different sole directors, but with overlapping office addresses. There’s the rub. Simple Properties Management Ltd may be no more, but Simple Lifestyle Properties London (or some such), with a different sole director, is surely under way.
Giles Peaker is a partner in the housing disputes team at Anthony Gold Solicitors and founder and editor of www.nearlylegal.co.uk 22 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS / JULY/AUGUST 2021
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Delivery driver crushed by unstable fork-lift load in ‘emotionally difficult’ case AUTHORITY: Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk DEFENDANTS: Dickies Pet Centre Limited; its director, Richard Ellwood OUTCOME: For Dickies Pet Centre: £115,000 fine, £70,000 costs For Ellwood: 12 month Community Order with a 200-hour unpaid work requirement OFFENCES UNDER: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
THE STORY This was a particularly harrowing case in which a delivery lorry driver was crushed by a load that fell from a fork-lift truck driven by Richard Ellwood. The truck lifted the load from the driver’s lorry with its lifting forks too close together, so that they went into the wrong apertures in the pallet and could not support it properly. The laden truck was manoeuvred away from the lorry and around a curve with the forks still raised. The load, which weighed more than 800kg and was more than 2.5 metres tall, then fell from the pallet on to the driver. The driver was left tetraplegic and now needs 24-hour care to assist him with everyday tasks, and even breathing. HOW IT PLAYED OUT Ellwood initially said the pallet had broken rather than admit that the forks had been wrongly spaced. Vicki Hopps, EH manager at the
council, said there were other frustrations too. “We were notified of the case late as it had originally been wrongly allocated to the Health and Safety Executive. “So when we were notified, six months had elapsed and we were playing catch-up with the evidence. The scene of the accident had been cleared and all we had to work from was information and photographs from witnesses. “We also had to review all previous evidence collected and to ascertain what further information was required,” she said. LESSONS LEARNED “This was one of the most challenging cases that I have dealt with, not only in terms of complexity but also it was emotionally difficult,” Hopps said. “Speaking to [the injured person] in his hospital bed will be an image I will not be able to forget in a hurry.” She added: “This case taught me to be thorough when carrying out an investigation and not to rush as vital information may be missed. It’s important to cover all lines of enquiry and not jump to conclusions.” WWW.CIEH.ORG
AUTHORITY: Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council DEFENDANTS: Christopher Ferguson OUTCOME: Eight months in custody suspended for three years; £2,250 fines; £150 legal costs; £84 court costs; £15 offender levy OFFENCES UNDER: Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978; The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985
THE STORY EH officers had visited and contacted this cosmetic piercing business owner numerous times from September 2016 and repeatedly told him he needed to register under the council’s cosmetic piercing byelaws. Eventually the council issued a prohibition notice against Christopher Ferguson, forbidding him from carrying out skin piercing without adequate sterilisation – but he failed to comply with the notice.
jewellery from the premises,” said EH manager Sharon McClements. The council’s health and safety team and the police obtained keys from the landlord and removed equipment while Ferguson was out. Sharp action after piercing complaints
HOW IT PLAYED OUT Soon after, the council received a complaint from a member of the public who was injured during her piercing by Ferguson and required hospital treatment. This piercing was carried out at a date after the prohibition notice was served. “It was apparent that the only way to stop operation of the piercing business was to seize equipment and
LESSONS LEARNED “We received three complaints from members of the public who had received injuries whilst being pierced,” McClements said. Two gave statements, with one of them being prepared to attend court to give evidence. Ferguson subsequently pleaded guilty. “Investigation of this case was time-consuming and involved all of the officers in the health and safety team,” McClements said. “It demonstrates that persistence and perseverance pay off.”
Fly-tipper proves rubbish at covering his tracks as officers use Facebook to help find the unlicensed ‘man with a van’ AUTHORITY: North Kesteven District Council DEFENDANT: Reece Presley, of Esther Varney Place, Newark OUTCOME: 10 weeks’ custody suspended for 12 months on condition 100 hours of unpaid work is undertaken; £1,000 costs; three months driving ban; £122 victim surcharge OFFENCES UNDER: Environment Act 1995
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THE STORY On two occasions Reece Presley had collected waste in the Newark area, offering ‘man with a van services’ despite not having a carrier’s licence, and then dumped the waste in woodland. Investigating officer Andrew Beaver, an environmental crime officer in North Kesteven’s EH team, said: “There were two fly-tips discovered around the same time in woodland known as Stapleford Woods. One was at a particular hotspot and adjacent to a deployed North Kesteven CCTV camera.” HOW IT PLAYED OUT The team searched the rubbish and found evidence that it came from two separate householders in an adjacent town. Beaver added: “Enquiries with both householders revealed they had put posts up on Facebook looking for someone to clear waste they had accumulated. Both replies, offering to collect the waste for
Waste dumped in woodland
payment, were from a person connected to Presley.” Beaver obtained statements from the householders, as well as copies of Facebook Messenger conversations, which were used as evidence. Facebook searches also revealed Presley was offering waste collections. A check of the deployed CCTV identified a van linked to Presley fly-tipping the waste, and a drive-by of Presley’s address revealed the van parked on his driveway. LESSONS LEARNED There was a delay in getting the case to court because of COVID-19 issues.
Beaver said: “Presley then failed to appear and a warrant was issued. He had also moved from his previous rented property and council tax did not have a new address for him.” However, eventually he was traced using police intelligence and information from the previous landlord and the National Anti Fraud Network intelligence system. Beaver added: “Dealing with ‘man with a van’ fly-tippers can be a challenge. They are often evasive and will not cooperate with investigations. [The key was to] use the police (who usually are aware of the same people) to trace, locate and assist with enquiries.”
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Equipment confiscated and business owner sentenced for injuring customers with cosmetic piercing procedures
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‘This felt like such an environmental health thing’
Every EH degree course obliges students to work with food products: not so easy when there’s a national lockdown. Cardiff Metropolitan University have devised an outdoor solution that might be here to stay GAYLE DAVIS We moved
our teaching online during COVID. But we had a dilemma: the practical food elements can’t be done online. We looked at doing them indoors but there was no way we
Wooden structure pressed into study service
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could make it work with the 2m distancing. Then we went to this one meeting, and our health and safety person said: ‘You should just do it outside.’ It was a throwaway comment, but the university had constructed this wooden structure during shutdown to make eating outside on campus a little bit more viable. We realised we could use that!
ANDREW CURNIN We’ve got a designated food industry centre here, so the facilities are excellent. We did wonder when the students saw this set-up, next to the dedicated buildings that they weren’t able to access in a COVID-safe way, what their response would be. But their enthusiasm was tremendous and they thoroughly enjoyed it. We prepped the food inside, then wheeled it out on trolleys. Our technicians
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Under a tutor’s watchful gaze, EH students have to handle, prod and identify all kinds of animal products
THE FUTURE IS BLENDED There’s a place 1 for online learning alongside face-to-face lessons. CONSIDER THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE We were forced to 2 go back to basics and think about what the students really needed from the course. NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE This has made us 3 realise we don’t have to do things a certain way just because they’ve always been done like that.
were brilliant. They marked the space under the shelter, then we had an area for the students to leave their bags and put on protective clothing. There were seven students in each session, at least 2m away from the lecturer from the Food Standards Agency. I think the students benefited from the smaller class sizes: it was more bespoke and sometimes they’re happier to ask questions in smaller groups. There was 100% turnout and it was nice to see attendees stay on after and have a coffee together. I think we’d forgotten how important that is.
GD This felt like such an environmental health thing. Our profession is all about problem-solving, thinking outside the box. And there were added benefits: once we took these sessions outside we were no longer beholden to a central timetabling system that dictates what rooms we can use and when. AC Students really took to it. And the
university estates team is making the shelter into a bookable space for the future. I think what students have seen is a huge effort to give them something at a time when options were limited.
Gayle Davis is programme director and Andrew Curnin is principal lecturer of the BSc (Hons) Environmental Health course at Cardiff Metropolitan University
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