CIEH EHN May 2022

Environmental Health Advisor • NCASS, West Midlands • £40,000–£50,000 P27

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NEED FOR A SINGLE VOICE ACEHO represents EH in England

THE MAGAZINE FOR CIEH MEMBERS

www.cieh.org May 2022 Volume 37 Issue 3

MANAGING REPUTATION Top tips from a council CEO

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UKRAINE EMERGENCY

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URGENT ACTION ON FINDING SAFE HOMES FOR REFUGEES

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For membership queries, including change of address: 020 7827 5815 membership@cieh.org ISSN 0969-9856 ART

EHN is published on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health by Think.

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Editors

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Steve Smethurst, Nicola Smith, Katie Coyne

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The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of CIEH. All information is correct at the time of going to press.

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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.

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ACEHO: BUILDING

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

MANAGING REPUTATION

05 UPDAT E

News Campaign to end food standards ‘loophole’; CIEH welcomes Health and Care Bill amendment; Defra tightens up sewage discharge rules; WHO calls for more support for home workers; farmers told to reduce nitrates pouring into Poole Harbour.

EVE RY I S SU E 32 TALES FROM THE FRONT LINE Paul Lankester on the regulatory preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

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

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FEATU R E S 10 UKRAINE EMERGENCY Can the UK’s home inspection scheme be streamlined but still protect refugees from harm?

14 THE FUTURE OF EH IN COUNCILS Connecting councils across England, ACEHO aims to give EH a louder voice in government.

1 9 L EGAL BR I E FI NG Explainer How agency specialists can support local authorities in fatal accident investigations.

Prosecutions Penalties for car auction crush, dangerous housing and persistent fly-tipping.

2 3 YOU R CAR E E R Reputation Tips on dealing with adverse publicity.

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As Ukrainians fleeing war start arriving in the UK, councils are looking at ways to speed up inspections to provide safe housing

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Sharing expertise is key to moving forward

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W HO’S I NS I DE

PETER WRIGHT “ACEHO needs a flourishing CIEH, and CIEH needs a strong chief EHO group in each of the UK nations”

LAURA TAYLOR “I know the complex line we tread … and how difficult it can be to secure a positive or even palatable outcome for all parties”

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S WAR IN UKRAINE

rages on and the number of refugees fleeing the country exceeds more than five million, we take a look at what is being done in Britain to offer them a safe haven.

Thousands of people are generously opening their doors to families but it will be down to local authorities to make sure the accommodation is safe and appropriate.

How will it work? One district council discusses how it is putting a plan into action to deal with the emergency.

The themes of partnership working and the need for a single voice across the various disciplines of our profession come into focus from very different perspectives in this issue.

On page 32, Paul Lankester of Birmingham City Council explains why it has been a team effort across four West Midlands metropolitan councils, a London borough, two county councils and two

district councils to deliver this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

While on page 14, Peter Wright describes the creation of the Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers in England, which aims to give EH a strong and unified voice in government.

Andy Lucas looks at how agency specialists can help local authorities deal with emotionally and technically difficult fatal accident investigations (page 19).

And, on page 23, Laura Taylor, CEO of Winchester City Council, shares advice on how to deal with adverse publicity and manage your organisation’s reputation in the midst of a media storm.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

KATE THOMPSON CIEH Professional Director (Wales) MAY 2022 / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS 3

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The Sustain alliance is urging the UK government to support British farmers and spend more in rural communities

DATA PRODUCTION

FOOD = CO2

CLIENT

The University of Illinois used data from more than 200 countries to estimate that food production makes up about 35% of total GHG emissions, rising to

37%

when emissions from food-related disturbances (such as clearing space for farming) are included.

Sustain calls for an end to food standards ‘loophole’

Campaign urges members to write to MP to amend clause that stops compliance

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public institutions spend £2.4bn on food and they are supposed to follow government buying standards for food (GBSF), which lay out higher environmental, nutritional and animal welfare standards.

GBSF mandates around verifiably sustainable fish, as well as traceability, authenticity and seasonality, using sustainable palm oil, reducing WWW.CIEH.ORG

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salt and sugar intake, and increasing fruit, vegetable and fibre consumption.

Sustain maintains that a clause means around 50% of public institutions are not meeting GBSF and it wants the loophole closed, arguing thousands of institutions already serve food with the higher standards within budget, so the cost argument is moot. Sustain is urging members to write to their

MP to ensure these changes are made in the food strategy white paper due to be published next year.

Ruth Westcott, Sustain campaign coordinator, said: “This should be a win-win for the government. Instead of wasting millions of pounds on bad food they could be using their massive buying power to support the British farmers working hard to meet high standards, spending more

The team looked at the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from the production of

171

different crops and 16 animal products in 2010 (the most recent available data was 2007 to 2013).

Global food production contributes about

17.3 billion metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, 57% related to producing animal-based foods and 29% on plant-based foods.

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Buying local helps reduce carbon emissions

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taxpayer money in rural communities and providing millions of people with healthier food. Buying better local produce could also be kinder to the planet and help tackle climate change. We need to see a proposal to change the law in the new year.”

Kate Thompson, CIEH director Wales, said: “CIEH is backing Sustain’s campaign calling for changes to government buying standards so more taxpayers’ money is spent on high-quality British produce which is both healthy and sustainable in schools, hospitals and other public canteens. This is consistent with one of the recommendations in Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy.”

Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association, argued that spending in this way was an investment. He said thousands of schools and hospitals were already working with its Food for Life scheme, serving seasonal, freshly prepared menus, and that each £1 spent through the programme delivered £3 in social value to local communities.

The campaign brings multiple concerns together: with global food production creating 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging higher environmental standards can help the UK meet its net zero target commitment.

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CIEH’s sustained campaign pays off as Health and Care Bill is amended

Amendment injects higher standards into cosmetics procedures

Agreed set of standards giving consumers confidence in cosmetic practitioners is set to be introduced

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IEH PRESIDENT

Julie Barratt has welcomed the government’s decision to license practitioners offering non-surgical cosmetic procedures under new plans to protect patients who have aesthetic treatments such as dermal fillers, chemical peels or laser hair removal.

Having campaigned for better regulation and a licensing scheme for practitioners, CIEH’s hard work has been rewarded through an amendment to the Health and Care Bill.

“Introducing safeguards and better regulation to the cosmetics industry in England has been a key goal for CIEH,” said Barratt. “We strongly

welcome the positive engagement we have had with the government on this issue and will continue to work with our partners to help build this much-needed regulation.”

Rosemary Naylor, EHO at Ipswich Borough Council, said: “Regulation has not kept up, which has allowed almost anyone to be able to set themselves up as a cosmetictreatments practitioner with very little or poor-quality training, putting clients at risk of botched procedures that cannot always be reversed.

“If implemented effectively, this amendment should

introduce an agreed set of standards so that consumers can feel confident that the practitioner they are using is competent to carry out the chosen treatment.”

Helen Atkinson, senior EHO at Wakefield Council, also welcomed what she described as an “overdue” amendment and encouraged every local authority to take part in the consultation.

She also urged the HSE to recognise the risk in this sector

“We will continue to help build this much-needed regulation”

BSI TO CONSULT ON SOUND INSULATION AND NOISE REDUCTION BSI intends to run an online consultation to seek feedback on its guidance on sound insulation and noise reduction for buildings (BS 8233:2014).

The standard, now referenced in the National Planning Practice Guidance, is routinely referred to when new noise-sensitive uses, such as housing, are proposed near existing sources of noise such as roads, railways and airports.

BSI en route to alter guidance for buildings

Daniel Baker, director of Broodbakker Acoustic Consultants, is the CIEH representative on the committee that sets British standards on noise and the built environment.

He told EHN that the committee had agreed that it would be revised. He said: “There is a lot of useful information within the standard, but only a small part, relating to noise guidelines, that

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Defra is consulting on storm overflow targets

Stricter sewage discharge limits for water companies

Defra calls for radical overhaul to eliminate 75% of storm overflows by 2035 and, once regulations are in force, include it in the LAC 67/2. She also warned about the potential impact on workload to environmental health and licensing teams. “Decisionmakers must provide more resources for this work to be carried out effectively.”

CIEH vice president Ilora Finlay, who helped secure the amendment in the House of Lords, said: “We look forward to working closely and positively with the government in designing the scope and details of the new scheme.”

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announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will see water companies face stricter limits on when they can use storm overflows, and must “completely eliminate” the ecological harm any storm sewage discharges cause to the environment.

Defra said it would publish a Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan

by September 2022, as required by the Environment Act 2021,

that will set clear and enforceable targets that the water industry must meet.

A consultation on the plan will seek views on the targets and other elements of the plan. This will close on 12 May 2022.

Billed as the “largest overhaul of the sewer system since the 1990s”, Defra predicts that the environmental impacts of 3,000 storm overflows (75%) will be eliminated by 2035. It has explained how water companies will be expected to achieve this target, including mapping sewer networks and

DATA

AN OVERFLOW OF NUMBERS According to Environment Agency data in March 2022:

engaging in long-term collaborative planning.

The department has also detailed how the government will hold companies that do not meet expectations to account, including a new monitoring and reporting framework.

Environment secretary George Eustice said the government was “delivering on its Environment Act and building on wider work on water quality”, but Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust, highlighted a “lack of urgency”, telling the Guardian “the timelines in the plan are far too slow”.

89%

The percentage of storm overflows with monitoring devices has increased to 89% in 2021 (12,707 overflows)

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5%

is typically utilised and it is often misused in the context of noise source, reaction and demonstrating compliance with national noise policy requirements.”

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of storm overflows spilled more than 100 times in 2021, 87% of storm overflows had at least one spill in 2021 and 13% of storm overflows did not spill in 2021

33 29 The data shows that the average number of monitored spills per overflow has reduced from 33 in 2020 to 29 in 2021. While the trend seems to be going down, this is most likely as a result of drier weather in parts of the country last year than in 2020

7 hours

The average duration of each monitored overflow event was 7 hours (min/ max average 5/11 hours)

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Appeal for more support for teleworking staff

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Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have called for safeguarding and support measures to be put in place around remote working (or teleworking).

A technical brief to healthy and safe teleworking, published in February 2022 by the two UN organisations, has found that remote working can lead to isolation, burnout, depression, home violence, musculoskeletal and other injuries, eye strain, an increase in smoking and alcohol consumption, prolonged sitting and screen time, and unhealthy weight gain.

In addition, a survey by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) found that 45% of people felt working from home was better for their health, but 29% thought it was worse. However, the overwhelming majority (74%) of people did not want to go back to working in an office full-time, instead preferring to

split time between home and the office.

The RSPH survey also highlighted some vulnerable groups. Of the 26% of people working from a sofa or bedroom, nearly half (48%) said they had developed musculoskeletal problems and nearly two thirds (59%) said they felt more isolated from their colleagues.

HEALTHY BOUNDARIES

Andrew Foster, EHP and CIEH Health and Safety Advisory Panel member, said employers and organisations need to think beyond whether a workstation is set up properly. “Psychological health and safety considerations could include, for example, considering how work’s organised, dealing with anxiety around isolation from other colleagues, level of support and supervision provided, workload, uncertainty and lack of control.”

Not everyone is happy working from home

The RSPH made similar recommendations to the WHO and ILO in calling for employers to provide mental health support, give access to work equipment and remote assessments for their physical set-up, and develop a culture with clear work–life boundaries.

“The RSPH is calling for … a culture with clear work–life boundaries”

TIME TO ‘DISCONNECT’

Unions across the UK are also campaigning for the ‘right to disconnect’ from work communications during non-paid hours to create healthy work–life boundaries, and this is contained within the Trades Union Congress manifesto. This right has already been granted to workers in France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Slovakia and the Philippines.

FAILING SOCIAL-HOUSING LANDLORDS FACE PUBLIC EXPOSURE

New government proposals to strengthen residents’ rights and improve standards The government has announced it will ‘name and shame’ failing social-housing providers as part of reforms to give residents a stronger voice and drive up standards.

The move was announced on 29 March 2022 by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The names of social landlords will be published on the government’s social media channels if they are found to

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Social landlords who breach consumer standards will be named online

have breached the Regulator’s consumer standards or where the Housing Ombudsman has made its most serious finding – severe maladministration – against them.

A ‘Resident Panel’ will also be created, allowing tenants who live in social housing to be heard directly by government.

The reforms signal a major change in the way social landlords are regulated and held to account.

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WHO warns of psychological risks of working from home

Farmers told to halve nitrates flooding into Poole Harbour

Environment Agency provides farmers with tools to report on compliance and nutrient loss

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OOLE HARBOUR

in Dorset is paying the price of 50 years’ worth of nutrients leaching into the waters from surrounding farms, prompting the Environment Agency (EA) to task farmers with halving the polluting nitrates pouring into the water. Nitrogen – widely used in synthetic fertilisers – entering the harbour has more than doubled since the 1960s to around 2,300 tonnes/ year. The harbour is designated a Special Protection Area, Site of Special Scientific Interest and Ramsar (international wetlands) site.

Excessive nitrogen pollution is harmful to biodiversity as it allows nitrogen-tolerant species to thrive at the expense of other wild plants. One consequence is that the harbour’s mudflats have become covered in green algae, which has smothered sea grass and saltmarsh to the

natural environment and to ensure they are compliant with existing regulations.

Farmers are also being advised to avoid planting crops such as maize on ‘high-risk’ land, and in some cases will have to cut their overall fertiliser use or risk a fine under the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

WELCOME ACTION

Nitrogen in fertilisers can be harmful to biodiversity

“Green algae has smothered sea grass to the detriment of wetland birds” detriment of wetland birds and wildlife ecosystems.

EA TARGETS

The EA has set out interim nitrogen and phosphorus targets that state that nitrogen loads reaching the harbour should be reduced to 1,500

tonnes/year, and orthophosphate (OP) loads from 51 to 22 tonnes/year.

Farmers must now report on their compliance and nutrient loss. The EA is providing them with tools that enable them to calculate the amount of nutrients they are losing to the

Graham Farrant, chief executive at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, said that BCP council welcomed the action by the Environment Agency.

“It is recognised that it will take several years for this reduction to have an effect on levels of algae as it can take many years for the nutrients to drain into Poole Harbour from the surrounding land.”

Alongside farmers, the EA is working with Wessex Water, local authorities and local industries.

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HOMES FOR REFUGEES Who is checking that accommodation offered to people fleeing Ukraine is safe?

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HOUSANDS OF

people across the UK have responded to the unfolding crisis in Ukraine by offering their homes as shelter to refugees fleeing the war. Homes for Ukraine, the government scheme launched in March to fast-track visa applications from refugees with a named sponsor in the UK, has received more than 32,000 visa

T

applications. Around 4,700 had been granted by 1 April.

A matching service, run by the charity Reset Communities and Refugees to pair refugees with suitable sponsors, has registered 8,000 UK households offering places for more than 20,000 refugees.

Kate Brown, CEO of Reset, has praised the generosity of the British public as an “extraordinary moment for the refugee welcome movement in the UK” but stressed that a proper support system must

be put in place to ensure refugees are placed in homes that are safe and secure.

Concern has also been expressed that the scheme risks turning into “Tinder for sex traffickers”. A letter from 16 refugee and anti-trafficking organisations, sent to communities secretary Michael Gove, calls for extra protection against exploitation by slum landlords and traffickers.

Government guidance states that all households receiving guests from Ukraine will be subject to checks by their local

“A letter to Michael Gove calls for extra protection for refugees against exploitation by slum landlords and traffickers”

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“We’ve designed an inspection form to capture the information we think is relevant – things like category 1 hazards, fire, electric, gas, falls from windows” FIONA MACLEOD

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“The priority has been to ensure all the necessary checks are made without tying up the system in red tape” fire, electric, gas, open-flued appliances, falls from windows – and we are also encouraging sponsors to sign up for a home fire safety check from Lancashire Fire and Rescue.”

Safeguarding and Disclosure and Barring Service checks are carried out by the county council’s social services. But the environmental health team gather welfare information on room numbers, space standards, ages of the people living in the accommodation and so on.

“As we would do on any inspection, we will be looking out for safeguarding red flags,” adds Macleod.

With the Homes for Ukraine scheme still in its infancy, the impact on workload and resources is difficult to predict. But at the moment it is manageable.

“Our team of four has done 18 inspections this week,” says Macleod.

“Fortunately, there isn’t a lot of follow-up.

Most of the houses we have looked at are very well kept, we are not having to take any enforcement action and we can fill the forms out on site.

“The difficulty is that nobody has any idea of numbers. Five extra inspections a week is fine. But if it’s 300 next week we might have our hands full.”

Alongside the warnings around safeguarding, the letter to Michael Gove also raised concerns that Homes for Ukraine could result in a two-tier system in which refugees from other war-torn regions are neglected in preference for those from Ukraine.

However, Macleod does not see this as a significant concern. “Nationally, I suppose that could be a problem. But here in Lancashire we’ve always been very supportive of refugee resettlement and I think that will continue. It may even be that the publicity surrounding the Ukrainian refugees could raise the profile of refugees generally. In my briefings I always make sure I talk about our refugee resettlement programme as a whole.”

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authority both on the property and the household members. So it seems likely that environmental health teams will be stepping up to carry out the necessary accommodation and welfare checks.

Indeed, a number have already hit the ground running.

“In the past two weeks we’ve gone from absolutely nothing to now having a dedicated team from both the city and county councils,” says Fiona Macleod, an environmental health officer from Lancaster City Council.

“It’s a really good example of collaborative working between us and the county council – we made the decision to pool the funding and we’ve seconded social workers and support workers from Lancashire County Council’s refugee resettlement team.”

The priority for the environmental health team has been to streamline their inspection service to ensure all the necessary checks are made without tying up the system in red tape.

“There hasn’t been a huge amount of guidance from central government on how these inspections should be carried out,” says Macleod. “So we’ve pared them down to make them a bit more streamlined.

We’ve designed an inspection form to capture the information that we think is relevant – things like category 1 hazards,

“This is an extraordinary moment for the refugee welcome movement in the UK but we must ensure refugees are placed in homes that are safe and secure” KATE BROWN

WWW.CIEH.ORG

CAS E STUDY

AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE

South Derbyshire District Council’s plans in action

MACIEJ GRZYBOWSKI

H

OW TO RECONCILE THE NEED

for urgent action in a crisis with the equally pressing demand to ensure the safety and welfare of potentially traumatised people.

This is the dilemma facing environmental health teams up and down the UK as the fallout from the war in Ukraine spills over into a growing refugee emergency.

In South Derbyshire, principal environmental health officer Tim Summers was watching the news from Ukraine “in horror and disbelief”, eager to do his bit to help but unsure how the usually meticulous approach of his environmental health team could be adapted to offer more immediate assistance.

“We are so accustomed to working with strict standards, comprehensive technical details and inspection forms, but these may not be entirely appropriate in times of crisis,” he says.

“A key conundrum for us has been the notion of a ‘light-touch’ inspection as suggested by central government. After 22 years in the job, my inspection approach is so deeply engrained that I found it difficult to let some things go.”

Nevertheless, Summers set about “paring the regulations back to the bare bones” to provide a more streamlined service. “I looked through the hazard groups in Housing Health and Safety

Rating System (England) Regulations 2005 and undertook a mental ‘stick or twist’ process, striking off those hazards least likely to be encountered.”

Inspection priorities that remained on the slimmed down form included: l Smoke alarms on each storey l Unlawful loft and basement conversions l Falls between levels l Visual electrical checks l Carbon monoxide detection in rooms with open-flue appliances l Amenities - food preparation, washing machine, bathing etc l Heating Accommodation space is also checked, although with a little more latitude than normal. “We clearly need to ensure that very small rooms aren’t crowded,” says Summers. “But we may need to take a step back on this point and consider matters of trauma and someone’s desire to keep their loved ones close, particularly in an unfamiliar home and country. I certainly know I would.”

“A key conundrum for us has been the notion of a ‘light-touch’ inspection as suggested by central government”

South Derbyshire’s Environmental Health Practitioners also undertake the safeguarding component of the home visit.

“Once we reviewed the safeguarding checklist that had been produced by social care it was clear that this was a logical step,” says Summers.

“The checks include hoarding and hygiene considerations as well as indicators of drug and substance abuse.

All in a day’s work for an EHP and clearly would have been red-flagged and actioned in any event.”

A final element in South Derbyshire’s approach has been to convert the inspection form into an app that can be used on any mobile device.

“Our environmental health service manager Matt Finn worked over the weekend to put the form into iAuditor, which seems intuitive and simple to use,” adds Summers.

He believes that having led from the front during the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental health teams have become invaluable during times of crisis. Homes for Ukraine is another demonstration of this quality.

“EHPs are extremely well placed to manage circumstances which might be deemed a civil emergency,” he says. “This situation (as with COVID-19) is an opportunity to actively contribute and support our communities.”

Swadlincote, home to South Derbyshire District Council

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BUILDING FIRM FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

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Peter Wright and Annie Sargent of the Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers (ACEHO) in England explain why the group is crucial to the future of the profession in councils ILLUSTRATION BY WILL MORRIS

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health has long had a better chance of being listened to by government in all nations of the UK, apart from England, says Peter Wright, environmental health manager, Gateshead Council: “Good arrangements already exist in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland – but England had no such body.

“We’ve seen, particularly since Brexit, how regulation bureaucracy isn’t the flavour of the month for the ruling party.

I, and a number of colleagues, had concerns that the five pillars of environmental health were being eroded and we wanted to do something. We needed a group that could represent the profession with government – a single voice across all the different disciplines.”

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which Peter ran from 2017 to 2020. At its final meeting, in February 2020, he was tasked with establishing an association of chief EHOs. The pandemic would mean formal plans for the association would have to wait, but the need for such a group had never been greater.

COLLABORATION OVER COVID

“When COVID arrived, there was an urgent need for England’s chief EHOs to work together to coordinate our support to the pandemic response,” says Peter. “I used the mandate I had from the Future of EH to represent the profession in a co-design group with Public Health England and others. By August 2020, with the help of the North East Public Protection Partnership’s coordinator, Jeff Duffield, we’d got most of our chief EHOs to join a COVID collaboration online community with chief trading standards officers.”

When things settled down, there was time to establish ACEHO properly and it WWW.CIEH.ORG

ACEHO, 1 YELLOWBELLY PHOTOS, CHRISTIAN BLACK PHOTOGRAPHY.

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“The chief EHO groups in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales show the great potential for [England’s] ACEHO”

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was formally convened in December 2021 “When the MHCLG changed to the with Peter as chair and Annie Sargent, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and environmental health manager at Dartford Communities (DLUHC), the whole concept Borough Council, as vice-chair. was dropped but we at ACEHO will “I’ve worked closely with CIEH’s continue to campaign for this as a priority.

Northern Ireland director Gary McFarlane We and the CIEH need to work on finding and Wales director Kate Thompson on allies for the EH profession within central different aspects of the COVID health government who can speak our language protection system for the past couple of and support us when policy is created.” years. They have been brilliant and SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EH enormously supportive,” says Peter. “Chief ACEHO has already been flexing its executive Phil James also gave us access to muscles, Peter says: “A workshop about the administrative support for getting to this co-design of the next health protection more formal stage. Annie and I now meet system was recently organised by the UK with three of CIEH’s directors every Health Security Agency with Monday. ACEHO needs a chief executive Jenny Harries. flourishing CIEH, and CIEH CIEH’s Gary McFarlane noticed needs a strong chief EHO group we weren’t invited so we got in each of the nations.” ourselves added, as well as a ACEHO is eager to secure chief EHO from Lancaster. We a chief EHO for England were able to pull back the who would sit in the chief agenda to stop it creating a PHE medical officer’s department, replica and I now get to create mirroring positions in Wales the purpose for the new health and Northern Ireland. protection system.

“That’s something we were “We’re doing similar things pushing for with the Ministry of with DLUHC – we now have a Housing, Communities & Local few people working on the future Government (MHCLG) last year, of rented housing legislation.” when I was part of a group Annie adds: “That’s how we looking at the future Annie Sargent and see our role – being there at the sustainability of regulatory Peter Wright: pushing government table when services within local the EH agenda at government level important decisions are made.” government,” says Annie.

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One focus for ACEHO is the issue of capacity at chief EHO level. Peter says: “We’re all very busy, but we don’t need to be this busy if we can increase our collective capacity. If we can get ACEHO’s 340 or so members sharing some of the workload, that could have a massive impact.

“Sharing tasks through collaboration requires a change in our collective mindset and I see this as the biggest challenge during my term as chair of ACEHO.” Annie says creating local networks and improving communications across the country is crucial – ACEHO now has a representative for each of England’s nine regions: “Over the years, the networking between EH managers across England has eroded. ACEHO wants to be the hub that reconnects us all, so that ideas and reports can be shared. Unnecessary duplication of work tasks can be minimised and we can all be more efficient. It will make us stronger as a profession.

“One of our worries is that as the COVID crisis passes, everybody goes back into their own worlds and information sharing peters out – that’s not good for the profession. If we can say to government that we have a representative from every authority on the group, that gives us more value.”

Peter ends: “The chief EHO groups in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales show the great potential for ACEHO in terms of presenting a single position to government.

If we can replicate some of the successes of these groups in England over the coming years, I think we could all be very proud.”

● For more information on ACEHO contact PeterWright@Gateshead.Gov.UK

REPRESENTATIVES

WALES Environmental Health Wales Chair: Ceri Edwards, Caerphilly County Borough Council NORTHERN IRELAND Environmental Health Northern Ireland Chair: Seamus Donaghy, Derry City and Strabane District Council SCOTLAND Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland. Chair: Brian Lawrie, South Ayrshire Council ENGLAND Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers. Chair: Peter Wright, Gateshead Council

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Benefits of collaborative work How agency specialists can support local authorities with investigations into fatal accidents

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Criminal investigations into a death in the workplace are technically and emotionally challenging for officers

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conduct many types of investigation, but nothing really prepares an officer for a phone call from the police asking them to attend an accident in which an employee has died.

What follows is a long and complex criminal investigation that can be technically and emotionally challenging. The investigating officer’s role is to pull together the final moments of a person’s life.

They will interview friends and colleagues in various stages of grief and deal with lawyers representing potential defendants. No one wants to be prosecuted for causing the circumstances that led to the death of an employee and so these relationships can be challenging.

Investigations into noise nuisance, food poisoning outbreaks

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and the like are a local authority’s bread and butter, but this is very different. There is a real sense of not wanting to make a mistake in case you let the family down and this all adds to the pressure during the considerable time fatal accident investigations can take.

To compound this pressure, midway through the investigation it is likely that the officer will have to give evidence in a Coroner’s Inquest. This can be particularly challenging, especially if this is the first time they have been to an inquest, let alone drafted a report and given evidence.

Over the years, due to local authorities’ changing priorities, some would argue that expertise in health and safety enforcement has become diluted or even lost. Ideally, every local authority would have the necessary skills in house, but in

reality they are increasingly reliant on agency staff.

CIEH’s 2021 workforce survey found that four out of five local authorities use agency staff to deliver environmental health services, and almost a quarter of local authorities hire in external staff because specialist knowledge is not available in house.

While these figures reflect the profession’s recruitment difficulties, collaborative working between local authority and specialist can be a positive and beneficial solution.

I have supported local authorities through investigations into fatal incidents including a crush in a nightclub, a drowning in a lake, a sign falling from a shop front, a fall down pub cellar steps and two workplace transport fatalities.

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PRO S ECUT IONS This month’s selection of interesting cases and the lessons learned

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investigating a fatality is a once-in-a-career experience. Buying in this expertise on an ‘as needed’ basis reduces cost to the local authority in the long term, especially if it results in a successful prosecution and costs can be claimed back.

The CPS Code for Crown Prosecutors requires any prosecution to first pass the evidential and then the public interest tests.

Engaging specialist support early on helps to ensure a successful prosecution by conducting the investigation in accordance with criminal investigation procedures and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. It also assists in the decision not to prosecute if the case is weak, despite pressure to proceed.

Using Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 s20 powers can result in operations being stopped and equipment seized. Specialist advice can help to ensure such powers are used proportionately and effectively, thus reducing the risk of a civil claim.

However, the real benefit of partnership working is to the local authority officers. As well as supporting the investigation, it is a great opportunity to share knowledge and experience in criminal investigations. This also helps to improve their enforcement and investigation skills, which can be used in other areas of environmental health work.

Andy Lucas from Bespoke Safety (www.bespokesafety. com) has more than 25 years’ experience as a health and safety regulator 20 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS / MAY 2022

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Crush footage drives home need for better safety measures at car auction

Company fined £1.1m for failing to protect car auction customers from harm AUTHORITY: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council DEFENDANT: British Car Auctions Ltd OUTCOME: £1.1m fine, £97,000 costs OFFENCES UNDER: Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

THE STORY In October 2018 a Porsche being driven down a ramp at British Car Auctions Ltd premises in Paddock Wood collided with two customers.

Geoffrey Husher sustained serious injuries as he was crushed between the car and an Armco barrier. He died in August 2019 from causes unconnected with the incident.

The second customer managed to roll over the bonnet of the car, and sustained minor injuries. Both men had been walking up the ramp as vehicles descended from the first floor of the auction site.

Justene Lawal, senior EHO at Mid Kent Environmental Health Service, a shared service with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, was notified of the accident by the police. British Car Auctions was immediately served a prohibition notice requiring them to prevent access to the vehicle ramp by members of the public.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT An investigation was launched, led

by Lawal, which involved obtaining

statements from Mr Husher, the car driver and the auction’s regular customers in addition to studying CCTV footage of the accident.

Lawal said: “The main challenges were preparing for a not guilty plea. It required us to appoint an expert witness to counter the views of the defence expert.” The defence claimed that customers mingling with moving vehicles on the auction ramp was comparable to the dynamics in public car parks, where there is also no separation between them. However the case judge disagreed with the defence expert’s views.

In March, British Car Auctions Ltd pleaded guilty to one Section 3 charge at Maidstone Crown Court.

LESSONS LEARNED Lawal said: “Thorough preparation by case officers is the key to success.

Treat any correspondence with the business as if it could end up in a defence bundle. Also you need a cool nerve and deep pockets, as you may have to call on expert witnesses and counsel. Be mindful that the sentencing guidelines may persuade the defendant to go for a trial before a jury.”

She said the case also highlighted that: “Prosecutions take teamwork, as they are time consuming.”

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Expert advice is invaluable in collecting evidence

AUTHORITY: Waltham Forest Council DEFENDANTS: Arbab Ahmed, Eastern Avenue, Ilford; Eden Homes OUTCOME: Ahmed: £45,000 fine, £14,404.08 costs Eden Homes: £3,700 fine, £180 victim surcharge, £1,557.76 costs OFFENCES UNDER: Housing Act 2004; Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006; Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007

THE STORY In June 2019, landlord Arbab Ahmed arranged for the gas meter to be removed at the property he rented out in Vicarage Road, Leyton, leaving his tenants without hot water or heating. A tenant made a complaint to Waltham Council, and officers from its private sector housing and licensing team paid a visit.

It was found that the property had two flats and a ground floor shop unit with minimal residential adaptations, which was occupied by a family. The upstairs flat, which was rented out to six men, had a badly constructed part-completed rear extension and a ladder to the attic space, which had just been boarded and carpeted for bedroom use.

Cracked tiles among a catalogue of faults

Officers also found the property was rodent-infested and had inadequate locks, cracked bathroom tiles and leaking waste pipes. They also found a defective smoke alarm, a faulty boiler and a lack of fire doors.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT An investigation commenced into the atrocious conditions at the property.

The council served a prohibition order to prevent residential use of the shop unit. It also served an interim management order (IMO), giving the council management control of the first floor flat and forbidding Ahmed

Teamwork by councils puts a prolific fly-tipper behind bars AUTHORITIES: Buckinghamshire Council, Hillingdon Council, Sutton Council DEFENDANTS: Dean Stanley, Iver, Buckinghamshire; Bradley Caswell, Burnham, Slough OUTCOME: Stanley: 21 months’ custody each for 16 offences, 14 months’ custody for a further offence, all to run concurrently Caswell: £500 fine, £720 compensation, £500 costs OFFENCES UNDER: Section 43 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

HAD A SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION? Please tell us about it: email editor@cieh.org

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THE STORY Between March 2019 and January 2020 the prolific dumping of waste was blighting open spaces across Buckinghamshire and the boroughs of Hillingdon and Sutton. Dean Stanley’s two Ford Transit tipper vans were seen by eye-witnesses and captured on CCTV footage, and then linked to him via insurance and DVLA records. Stanley had also left personal details with people for whom he had removed waste.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT David Holmes, anti-social behaviour and environment investigation officer at Hillingdon Council, said: “I first became aware of Stanley when a member of the public sent me a blurred image of a tipper van and figure. We then had tip-offs of three dumps. They were all by water and under willow trees, which gave me the hunch the same person was responsible. When I spoke to

to access the property or contact, harass or bully the tenants living in it.

By October, Ahmed was charged with seven offences, including failure to license a property. He was also found to have flouted the IMO and was kept in custody for a seven-day period as part of a separate action.

In December 2021, the case was heard at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in Ahmed’s absence, and the judge found the landlord guilty of 10 charges. Eden Homes, Ahmed’s managing agent, pleaded guilty to three charges and was also fined.

LESSONS LEARNED Cllr Louise Mitchell, Waltham Forest Council’s cabinet member for Housing and Homelessness Prevention, said the case was challenging as when the tenants raised complaints “they were harassed by the landlord because he tried to avoid taking responsibility for his actions”. She added: “Cases like this show the very real need to ensure that landlords are registered.”

Trashing green space

Buckinghamshire Council enforcement officer Chris Smith, I found they were already investigating Stanley. The police also had some CCTV footage.”

Important evidence was obtained when Stanley dumped rubbish from Windsor. He said: “He tipped it in seven deposits over three days and we were able to get good CCTV images and use recognition systems to identify Stanley and his red tipper truck, which had distinctive damage.”

Buckinghamshire, Hillingdon and Sutton councils shared evidence and

pooled legal resources. At Aylesbury Crown Court on 25 February, Stanley admitted 17 counts of fly-tipping.

Accomplice Bradley Caswell was convicted on one count of fly-tipping.

LESSONS LEARNED “Talk to your neighbouring officers.

The partnership work was vital. It meant we could pool evidence and identify Stanley and his distinctive vehicles in images. Witness statements from the public were really important too,” said Holmes.

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HEADLINE NEWS Coping with press and social media scrutiny of your actions can be painful

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A CEO’s top tips on how to manage your organisation’s reputation in the midst of a media storm

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Written by LAURA TAYLOR

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thing professionally but suddenly not everyone sees it that way. Since the arrival of social media in the mid-noughties, the appetite for media content and sharing of ‘news’ has changed radically.

Previously, if a story was picked up by the press or the council wanted to share a story, you had to buy a newspaper to see it. Now with a click of a button a website is established, a Facebook post made, a campaign started. And it can be painful to be in the middle of that swirling mass of posts that challenge your credibility – or worse.

With more than 30 years’ experience as an EHP, I know the complex line we tread to resolve an issue – as advisor, educator, mediator or enforcer – and how difficult it can be

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to secure a positive or even palatable outcome for all parties.

I can assure you that sitting in the chief executive’s seat in the public or private sector is no different: managing reputation is really important.

1. IT’S HOW YOU DO IT We deal with difficult issues every day, but in the course of protecting public health, we have the potential to significantly affect someone’s livelihood – and if the impact is significant, of course the business is going to be upset. It’s not fail-safe, but acting considerately and with respect, taking time to explain clearly why there is an issue and what publicity or impact may come their way, is more likely to secure a grudging acceptance of the situation rather than result in a tirade on social media.

2. KEEP YOUR COMMS TEAM BRIEFED If you are dealing with a controversial issue, make sure your comms team know about it.

Preparation of a pre-emptive press release or a holding line means the local media can say something. The established media are bound by a code of ethics to ensure their reporting is accurate and both parties have been approached for comment. Local media, for example, may have monitoring in place so that ‘public comments’ are reviewed and moderated. But they are also under pressure from unregulated news outlets (not www.ipso.co.uk regulated) that are not bound by the same journalistic principles and that might just instantly ‘upload the letter’ online in order to bait reaction from an ever-scrolling public.

Wherever possible, look to give your local press a line or MAY 2022 / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS 23

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3. TO COMMENT OR NOT TO COMMENT – THAT IS THE QUESTION

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Tricky one, but as an officer it is unlikely you would be personally named and as public servants we are publicly accountable. As tough as it is, sometimes it is better for the council to say nothing, unless something is factually wrong. For a company a more proactive approach might be taken to more assertively protect your market position.

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4. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND …

No one likes to see their work in print in relation to a difficult news story. As hurtful as it might seem to be the subject of public criticism, it isn’t personal.

However, speak to your manager and support will be on hand from your employer if you are feeling the pressure.

Of course, if the comments go too far, the council or company can escalate to request that they are taken down.

If something has gone wrong and you have made a mistake, it is always best to issue an apology. It’s unlikely you would personally issue the apology, so be prepared to brief your boss, the director and maybe the cabinet member or the board. Just be honest, give all the facts and be ready to work through several different strategies on how to respond.

Your call of course, and you might be subject to different restrictions in the private sector, but keeping a low personal profile on social media can be a good plan. We are all proud of what we do, but keeping your account private, not linking your profile to your employer or having your public

Talk to the local press to put your position in the public domain

account under a different name can maintain a bit of distance between you and your work.

ABOUT THE WRITER Laura Taylor (FCIEH) is the CEO of Winchester City Council and an EHP with more than 30 years’ experience.

Laura has held senior leadership roles in local councils in the south, worked with LOCOG on the 2012 Olympics, and with the county council and LRF partners during the COVID-19 pandemic to coordinate the emergency response across two-tier Hampshire.

Laura has focused on modernising Winchester City Council, its services and premises, and enhancing the district for its 124,900 residents, all with an eye to sustainability. She is responsible for the completion of the £40m Winchester Sport & Leisure Park during the pandemic, along with the progression of several high-profile regeneration schemes, including the building of a record number of council homes in the district.

She regularly acts as the most senior apolitical spokesperson for the council.

6. YOUR OWN SOCIAL FEEDS

C I E H ON L I N E EVE N TS CIEH offers a range of professional development and networking opportunities, including bitesize training, conferences and forums.

Here is a selection of upcoming events: CONFERENCES l CIEH 14th Housing and

Health Conference 24 May l CIEH Food Safety Conference 28 June MEMBER FORUMS

l HoardingUK coffee and catch-up 6 May l New to the profession

coffee and catch-up 17 May l Health and safety coffee and catch-up 10 June l Port health coffee and catch-up 16 June l Food coffee and catch-up 8 July l Housing coffee and catch-up 14 July BITESIZE TRAINING l Control of listeria in food

processing 11 May l Vacuum packing 18 May

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l Pests in domestic buildings 26 May l Managing public events for a safer future 7 June l Food allergen enforcement and compliance 13 June l Dampness in domestic dwellings 16 June l Timber frame and non-traditional construction housing 17 June l Food allergen precautionary advice and labels 20 June

l Pests in domestic buildings 21 June l Works in default 22 June l Supplementary legislation to the Housing Act 2004 14 July WORKSHOPS l HHSRS enforcement

19 and 20 May (half days) l Statutory nuisance law and residential property 19 May l Understanding and applying HHSRS 26 and 27 May, 30 June and 1 July (half days) l Understanding and

applying HHSRS 9 and 10 June, 7 and 8 July (half days) l HMO enforcement 14 and 15 June (half days) l Environmental protection case law update 20 June l HMO practical inspection 23 and 24 June (half days) l HHSRS enforcement 5 and 6 July (half days) l HHSRS: damp, mould and excess cold 13 and 14 July (half days) l For full details and to book visit www.cieh.org/ events

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two so that your position is in the public domain. Your council or company will have core values – you need to act in line with them and your statement needs to reflect them. Nothing is as frustrating as dead air to a journalist. By responding you are showing that you respect their role in reporting what you have told them and you are building your relationship with them.

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DO YOU HAVE A TALE TO SHARE? Email editor@cieh.org

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‘Preparations started with a commitment to work together’ Partnership working is key to making a success of this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, says Paul Lankester

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Birmingham, the 2022 Commonwealth Games involves four other West Midlands metropolitan councils, a London borough, two county councils and two district councils. It was decided that the best way to work together was to create a partnership in the form of Joint Authorities Regulatory Services (JARS).

Regulatory preparations started with local authorities drawing up a draft action plan and committing to work together for the good of the Games.

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill was due to be passed in late 2019, but the general election delayed it until May 2020. Then the pandemic delayed many of the JARS activities planned for 2020.

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In Birmingham we had to draw up work programmes, deliverables, resourcing schedules and plans for implementing the statutory duties brought by the Act, informing businesses of advertising and trading restrictions. We shared this across local authorities. A revised enforcement policy for the Games was agreed, with a greater reliance on sharing intelligence.

Although Birmingham has taken the lead in Games preparations, the experience of colleagues across the many local authorities and Health and Safety Executive has been invaluable. Drawing on knowledge from London 2012, colleagues from Newham and Coventry have helped immensely to point us in the right direction.

BE PRAGMATIC Everyone who goes into a controlled/secure area must receive security clearance. This cuts across powers of right of entry, which is a challenge. It is a case of pragmatism but does rankle with regulatory officers that this could cause a diminution of powers.

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LEAVING A LEGACY Having a legacy from the Games is important. Effective joint working relationships will lead to a better understanding of different approaches, possibly shared services, and must lead to better regulation and enforcement consistency, particularly considering the shared standard operating procedures.

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To add a layer of complexity, the Games Organising Committee (OC) has an enforcement role – brand protection – but is also a business bound by licensing, environmental health and safety regulations, including the Safety of Sports Grounds legislation. This will cover changing the main athletics stadium to a designated stadium and various temporary stands, some to be completed just prior to the Games. There will also be live (festival) sites.

We have implemented a separate process for OC-related licensing events, using mutual aid to bring in a different chair for these Safety Advisory Groups, focused on providing assurance and the necessary deliverables.

A lack of qualified staff in the job market is a challenge for all disciplines. We are introducing enforcement wardens who will be the eyes and ears for qualified environmental health, licensing and trading standards professionals.

Working with UKHSA, the City Council has seconded one of its EHOs to ensure infectioncontrol plans and other health-related measures are in place.

Paul Lankester is interim assistant director regulation & enforcement at Birmingham City Council

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JARS has been set up to ensure this year’s Commonwealth Games is well regulated

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