For a full pdf copy of this service plan please email una.kane@rother.gov.uk.

1. Aims and Objectives
2. Background
3. Rother Structure
4. Food Hygiene in Rother District
5. Service Delivery
6. Resources
7. Quality Assessment
8. Agreed and Approved
9. Contacts
10. Audit 2023 Food Standards Agency

Aims and Objectives

This Food Service Plan is an expression of Rother District Council’s continuing commitment to Food Hygiene. The mission statement for this service is to

“Deliver an increasingly efficient and effective public health service which strives to promote and sustain a safe, prosperous community for businesses, residents and visitors.”

This plan has been prepared in accordance with paragraph 2.4 of the Food Law Code of Practice (2023).

1. The purpose of this plan is to set out how Rother DC will deliver Official Controls within its area.
2. This service plan notes paragraph 6 of The Regulators Code (published April 2014), which states that “Regulators should ensure their approach to their regulatory activities is transparent”.
3. The food hygiene service of Rother DC is informed by the principles of:
   • Proportionately (in applying the law)
   • Consistency (of approach)
   • Targeting (of enforcement action)
   • Transparency (about how we operate and what those regulated may expect)  
4. The food hygiene service supports the vision of Rother DC Corporate Plan (2020 – 2027) “to put residents at the heart of all we do” by delivering an effective public health service to promote and sustain a safe prosperous community for businesses and residents. Corporate Plan 2020-2027 – Rother District Council
5. Rother DC has adopted Equality Policies at Equalities at Rother District Council – Rother District Council. The Environmental Health Service conducts equality monitoring.
6. The Better Regulation Delivery Office placed food hygiene at Number 5 in their five priority regulatory outcomes for England (November 2011).

Background

Rother District Council – Profile

Population: 93,100 (ONS UK 2021)
Area: 511.8 Km²

Rother’s District is mainly a rural area with urban centres: Bexhill, Battle and Rye. As a District Council, Rother’s hygiene service is concerned only with food hygiene; the food standards and feeding stuffs function is delivered by East Sussex County Council (Trading Standards).

The District of Rother contains small pockets of rural, coastal and urban living. The food businesses within the District reflects this mix. The coastal areas have a significant holiday industry and seasonal influx of visitors affecting Camber and Rye in particular. Battle is a year-round tourist destination.  Bexhill, the main urban development, has a significant care industry which is reflected in the high number of residential care homes. In rural areas there are food approved establishments associated with agricultural and fisheries sectors – one dairy, three cold stores, two egg packers, one meat preparation and two fish products.

Rother District Council Structure

flowchart TB
accTitle: Rother District Council Structure
accDescr: The structure of Rother District Council's members including committees, cabinet and the chief executive
    A[Rother District Council \n Thirty-eight Elected Members] --- B[Cabinet]
    subgraph Committees
        C[Overview and Scrutiny Commitee]
        D[Planning Committee]
        E[Licencing & General Purposes Committees]
        F[Audit and Standards]
        G[Human Resources Committee]
        H[Joint Waste and Recycling Committee]
    end
    A --- Committees
    A --- I[Lorna Ford \n Chief Executive]
    

Decisions on this plan and all food hygiene policy matters are delegated to Cllr Field
Councillor details – Councillor Kathryn Field – Rother District Council (moderngov.co.uk)

Cllr Field makes policy decisions on food hygiene and communicates these to Mr R Parker-Harding, the Head of Environmental Health, Licensing and Community Safety.

The senior management structure is under redesign, as proposed below.

%%{init: {'theme':'dark'}}%%
mindmap
  root("Chief Executive Officer
  (HoPs)")
    (Head of Corporate and Strategic Services)
    ("DCEO
    (s151)")
      (Head of Housing and Strategic Assets)
      (Head of Digital and Customer Services)
      (Head of Finacial Services)
      (Development Programme Lead)
    ("Director of Governance and Community Services (MO)")
      (Head of Neighbourhood Services)
      (Head of Planning)
      (Audit Manager)
      (Democratic Services Manager)
      ("Head of Environmental Services and Community Safety (Shared WDC)")

Rother District Council – Environmental Health Structure

flowchart TB
accTitle: Environmental Health Structure
accDescr: The structure of Rother District Council's Environmental Health Department
    A[Richard Parker-Harding \n Head of Environmental Services, Licensing & Community Safety] --- B[Catherine Beaumont \n Deputy Head of Service \n Community Protection and Licensing]
    A --- C[Una Kane \n Environmental Health Manager \n Food, Safety, Pest & Dog Control and Licensing]
    B --- D[Principal Environmental Health Officer \nFour Senior Environmental Health Officers \n Three Licensing Officers \n Seven Pollution Control Officers \n Housing Aid Co Ordinator \n Four Business Support Officers \n Three Occupational Therapists]
    C --- E[Nine Senior Environmental Health Officers \n Two Pest Control Officers \n Two Business Support Clerks \n Stray Dog Control Contract]
    D --- F[Apprentice Environmental Health Officer]
    E --- F

The food hygiene of Rother’s District is carried out by the members of the Food Safety team (FAST), as part of the shared environmental health service and interlinks with UKHSA (United Kingdom Health Security Agency – formerly Public Health England) neighbouring local authorities, Food Standards Agency and other agencies as shown below;

The function of the team, in addition to food hygiene, is to advise on health and safety at work, investigate notifiable infectious diseases, regulate skin piercing, licence holiday and residential caravan sites, licence kennels and catteries, provide pest and dog control service and risk assess private water supplies. We do not use contractors.

The team operates from Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea and Vicarage Lane, Hailsham from 8.30am – 5.00pm Monday to Thursday and 4:30pm Friday. The service operates an agile working system. Planned out-of-hour work is undertaken and emergency calls are received by a standby system operated on our behalf by Cornwall Council on 01424 787868.

Any complaints can be submitted to Rother DC website at Environmental Health – Rother District Council or reported by telephone 01424 787500.

Enforcement Policy

Rother DC adopted an Enforcement Policy for the shared Environmental Health service in October 2014, cabinet minute 14/31, is available at
Rother and Wealden District Councils Shared Environmental Health Service Enforcement Policy 2014

The Environmental Health service standards and this service plan can be found at Service standards – Rother District Council

Food Hygiene in Rother District

The profile of food businesses in the Rother district on 4 April 2024:

Type of Business	Number
Caring Premises	118
Distributor	11
Hotel/Guest House	52
Importer	0
Manufacturer	32
Mobile	34
Producer	31
Pub/Club	93
Restaurant/Cafe	219
Caterer	126
Retailer	46
School/College	54
Small Retailer	129
Supermarket	12
Takeaway	42
Total	999
Unrated	13

Each year the numbers of food businesses varies as new businesses open and others cease trading. The total of 999 is slightly lower than previous years.

In 2023/4, seventy food businesses ceased trading, twenty changed hands and another seventy opened their doors for the first time. Unrated food businesses are those that have applied to be registered but are awaiting their first inspection.

Demands on the Food Service

Within the profile of food businesses are ten that are different because they use specialist techniques, produce a very high volume of food or they export food. Cheesemakers, on farm dairies producing milk, yogurt and cream, smokers of fish and meat, egg laying flocks of chickens with packing plants.

These businesses must be approved before they can start to trade and require intensive input from the food service to do so.

There are other businesses which are seasonal, operating only in holiday periods – typically catering in tourist destinations of Camber and Rye, and some which work only in the time before Christmas (turkey slaughter). Many high street businesses operate only in the evenings (takeaways). The food service inspects when the business is operational and does not usually make appointments.

New imported food controls were put in place for Great Britain in April 2024. Rother District Council will have responsibilities for inspecting imported foods, but the detail of what will be required has yet to be announced.

The overwhelming majority of food businesses are cafes, restaurants and shops, public houses, school kitchens, care homes and hospitals. The service does not inspect each of these annually, instead it inspects according to risk and performance to make sure that the highest risk and the lowest performers receive the most attention.

Food Hygiene Intervention Ratings

The Food Standards Agency sets out a numerical scheme which local authorities must use at each food hygiene inspection and this is used to determine;

1. When the next intervention will be (date)
2. What the next intervention will be (inspection/partial inspection/alternative)
3. Food hygiene rating

This numerical assessment of the business is based on the hazards, risks and controls. These figures are entered into the database and the next inspection is planned. The same information is used to create the food hygiene rating to inform customers of the general standards within a food business.

A business that produces high risk food with good controls is seen once between twelve to eighteen months. This intervention frequency will increase to once in six to twelve months if the business serves a vulnerable group (elderly/infirm/young). Any business with poor controls will require the most attention as decided by the inspecting officer. All food hygiene inspections fall into one of these categories;

1. Category A and B (92+; 72+)
   These are the highest risk food businesses and must be subject to an inspection, partial inspection or audit at least every six months (A) and every 12 months with (B). It is Rother’s policy that these businesses are fully inspected.
2.  Category C (52-71)
   These medium risk businesses will receive an inspection, at eighteen months, if they are broadly compliant it will be a partial inspection; otherwise a full inspection will be made.
3. Category D (31+)
   Category D premises are subject to an intervention every 24 months. Where they are rated 30 or 40 for “type of food”, these businesses must be subject to inspection, partial inspection or audit. Where the premises are rated less than 30 for type of food etc. it can alternate between official controls. Rother District Council inspects all category D’s, partial inspections for those that are broadly compliant.
4. Category E (0-30)
   The FSA advice on these lowest risk food businesses is that they could have an intervention every 36 months. It is Rother DC policy that these lowest risk food businesses are subject to a physical inspection or an alternative enforcement questionnaire every 36 months. It is important to retain observation of these lowest risk businesses to prevent minor issues becoming major over a long intervention interval.

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

The food hygiene rating scheme was adopted by Rother DC in April 2011 to provide information to consumers on the hygiene, structure and management of a food business. At the end of an inspection the business is rated with one of the window stickers below. In England it is not a legal requirement to display FHR stickers, although it is in both Wales and N Ireland. Rother ratings are available at Search the Rother area | Food Standards Agency

Business with a 3, 4 or 5 are deemed to be broadly compliant with food hygiene legislation and those with ratings of 0, 1 or 2 have failed.

In April 2024, 99 % of food businesses in Rother were broadly compliant with food law. Distribution of Food Hygiene Ratings – Rother District Council

Food Hygiene Ratings April 2024 RDC

Rating	April 2024	April 2023
0	1	0
1	1	4
2	3	2
3	37	43
4	111	88
5	761	768
Broadly Compliant	99%	99%

While the overall performance is excellent at 99%, it is notable there are still poor performers. Officers find that trading businesses strive to cut costs, by restricting the use electricity and gas, reducing cleaning (reduction in staff costs), terminating contracts for waste collection, pest control. These measures invariably created poor conditions, which resulted in poor food hygiene ratings.

Food Hygiene Interventions – Performance 2022-2023

A total of 470 food businesses were due for an intervention in 2023-4 plus 4 inspections which had not been done in 2022-3. Of the 470 due inspections, all but five were done, giving a performance of 99%. There are no outstanding inspections from the pandemic years.

The annual performance of the Food and Safety Team has restored to pre pandemic standard, as shown below.

In April 2023 the shared Environmental Health service changed database provider. All electronic records for each food business, and every food hygiene rating had to be moved from the old system to the new cloud-based solution, Idox Public Protection. Most records were successfully transferred electronically, but the approved premises records had to be transferred manually.

Inspections had to finish on 28th March to allow the programme of work to be developed before the old system was turned off on 31st March.

Thorough checks were made to ensure the correct food hygiene rating for every food business was in place, so no errors occurred on publication from the new database.

In June, the Food Standards Agency notified the service of their intention to conduct an audit of the service in September. The FSA requested extensive disclosure of procedures and electronic records before their two-day audit in September. The FSA audit included interviews with the portfolio holders, senior managers and they accompanied an officer on a food hygiene inspection. The executive summary is attached at Appendix 1.

Service Delivery 2024-2025

Rother DC is committed to providing a full food hygiene service as follows;

For the year 2023-4 the total number of food premises due for inspection is four hundred and seventy. These inspections are categorised as follows:

Category	Number
Category A	1
Category B	49
Category C	118
Category D	187
Category E	141
TOTAL	496
Carried forward from 2023 -24	5

The food hygiene interventions are conducted to ensure the food business meets the requirements of food hygiene law. It is Rother DC’s policy that these planned inspections are given priority and that 98% of this planned programme will be completed.

Our Approach

It is ROTHER DC policy to make food hygiene inspections without appointment. The Environmental Health Officer will identify themselves to the food business owner (or person in charge) before starting the inspection. The intervention will be conducted in accordance with the Food Law Code 2023 in particular:

• The hazards and risks will be assessed
• The controls will be verified
• The businesses validation will be examined
• The findings will be discussed
• A report of visit form will be left
• A follow up letter may be issued

The Environmental Health Officers of Rother DC will also deal with licensing and health and safety issues during a food inspection.

Poorest Performers

In Rother DC food businesses scoring 0-2 will receive more attention and support to continue to raise standards. This means that inspectors will make compliance checks (revisit) within three months of the initial inspection. If significant improvements have not been made Inspectors will take enforcement action.

Those businesses which show little or no improvement may be advised to contact a training contractor for tailored coaching, which they will have to pay for.

Enforcement

In 2023-4 thirteen enforcement notices were issued to nine food businesses. These hygiene improvement notices required the completion of improvement works by a specified date. Usually this involved poor conditions that needed deep cleaning and minor repairs. Sometimes out of date food was found, in fridges and freezers. In all cases the business management of hygiene and safety was poor with little or no written records. On one occasion a member of the public reported rats in a cafe and when we visited, we found such bad conditions, a prosecution was taken.

Rother District Council v Route 1066 Café Ltd

The inspecting officers found fresh rat droppings under kitchen workstations and in the storerooms, rat paw prints in the dust behind a chest freezer, food packaging gnawed by rats and empty packets of rat poison which also had been gnawed by rats. The business was open and trading; staff were preparing food as the inspection took place.

Environmental Health officers found a hole in the storeroom which acted as an entry point for the rats. More rat droppings were found behind the building where there was piled up rubbish. This provided the rats with a food source and a place to hide. Food Hygiene records, a legal requirement for any food business, were not up to date.

At Hastings Magistrates’ Court, the food business operator of Route 1066 Café Limited, pleaded guilty to three offences under Food Hygiene legislation. The Presiding Justice questioned why Ms Wells had not immediately informed the Council once she was aware of the rats, and how long the infestation might have continued had Environmental Health officers not been alerted by a member of the public. Ms Wells replied that she had not done enough and was deeply ashamed of how bad things had got. Route 1066 Café were fined a total of £6,000 for the three offences and ordered to pay a £2,400 surcharge and full costs to Rother District Council of £1,724.51.

Seasonal Businesses

There are many seasonal food businesses within the Rother district who trade only between June and September or early December. These businesses are inspected according to the Food Standards Agency food hygiene intervention scheme (as 4.2 above). However, those categorised as C are scheduled for an intervention at 18 months which may fall within their closed period. In these cases, it is policy to bring these inspections forward, so they are inspected when they are trading.

Unrated Businesses

A business is unrated when it is registered with the local authority but is awaiting the first inspection. On 31 March 2023 there were thirteen unrated food businesses on the database.

Revisits

Twenty revisits were made in 2023-4. Revisits are made to any businesses where significant statutory requirements were found on the programmed inspection. Revisits are always made after the expiry of statutory notices and to any businesses rated 0-2 FHRS. The number of revisits varies every year, as can be seen below.

Service Requests

Complaints about foodstuffs, food businesses or handlers can be made directly to Rother DC by emailing foodhs@rother.gov.uk or by telephone to 01424 787550.

We do not accept anonymous complaints, full contact details will be asked for, which will be kept confidential. The team will observe the shared service complaint investigation policy, give a first response to a service request within 5 days and complete the investigation within 90 days.

In 2023-4 Rother DC investigated sixty-six requests for service regarding foods, food hygiene and food safety in food businesses. One member of the public reported the undercooking of burgers, which could cause serious food poisoning. An officer visited the business and served an enforcement notice to ensure all burgers were thoroughly cooked in future.

New Businesses

Seventy new food businesses opened in Rother in 2023-4 and another twenty changed hands. Each of these businesses was given advice and guidance on both food hygiene and safety matters.

Every new food business is obliged to register with their local authority and this form is available on the Rother DC website along with full advice on starting up a new food business. Starting a food business – Rother District Council

Sampling

Rother DC samples food to ensure it is clean and safe to eat. Food samples are taken and sent to United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in Porton Down for examination.

In 2023-4 forty-six food samples were taken from food businesses trading in Rother.
Most of the samples were part of UKHSA national studies into cooked sliced meat, salads from restaurants and swabbing kitchen surfaces. Fourteen samples were unsatisfactory, and officers returned to the businesses to discuss these results. The swabbing of kitchen work surfaces/chopping boards in thirteen different kitchens, revealed dirty surfaces and chopping boards in poor condition.

Primary Authority

Primary Authority allows businesses to be involved in their own regulation. It enables them to form a statutory partnership with one local authority which then provides robust and reliable advice for other local regulators to consider when carrying out inspections or addressing non-compliance. Rother DC does not act as a primary authority for any food business. Rother DC complies with the primary authority principle by checking the appropriate website before conducting food hygiene inspections and noting any assured advice or inspection plans.

Import/Export of Food

Since 1st January 2021 certification of food before export into Europe is required. This means that every consignment of food must be inspected and certified by an Environmental Health Officer before export. In 2023-4 we issued twenty one export health certificates for fresh fish from Rye to the European Union.

Notifiable Diseases

In 2023-4 Rother DC received two hundred and twenty notifications of infectious diseases from UKHSA. Once notified, each case is contacted with advice about their illness to prevent further spread. E. coli 0157, Salmonella and Shigella are the most serious food borne illnesses – we interview these cases and give advice encouraging changes in behaviour to prevent further infections. In very rare cases, we will exclude infected persons from work. There were no outbreaks nor exclusions in 2022-3.

Reportable Diseases	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Campylobacter	176	176	106	128
Covid 19	0	0	44	9
Salmonella	10	18	12	10
E. coli 0157	17	12	11	10
Hepatitis	3	–	–	–
Legionnaires	3	1	–	–
Para/Typhoid	0	0	–	–
Listeria	1	–	–	–
Shigella	4	0	4	0
Giardia	3	16	3	1
Cryptosporidium	3	0	0	1
Others	0	0	0	0
Total	220	222	180	159

The number of E.coli o157 cases is higher than expected. Since summer 2023 there have been two national outbreaks of this serious infection, neither of which are connected with any food business in Rother.

Food Alerts

Food hazard warnings are responded to in accordance with the Food Law Code 2023 and with written procedure. There were no food alerts for Rother District Council action in 2023-4.

Advice for Food Businesses

Rother District Council is committed to supporting all food businesses through provision of food hygiene advice on the Rother District Council’s website at Food Hygiene for Businesses – Rother District Council

Business advice is provided at Support and advice – Rother District Council

Resources

Area	2024-25 Budget
TOTAL cost	£143,740
Employee Costs	£131,350
Supplies and Services	£12,390
Staff	2.5 FTE

Budget Area	£	Notes
Sampling Budget	15,664	With UKHSA not ROTHER DC
Legal Action	1,000,000	For general Council disasters and emergencies – not specific to food hygiene functions
	9,420	Specifically, for food hygiene matters

The number of full-time equivalent staff working on food hygiene, including supervision and management, for 2024-5 is 2.5 FTE. All the authorised food officers are named below. We do not use contractors.

Note EHORB indicates Registration with the Environmental Health Officers Registration Board.

Environmental Health Officer	Additional Qualification	Level of Authorisation Inspection	Level of Authorisation Enforcement
EDWARDS Simon	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
HOYLAND Richard	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
KAMUNDA Maybee	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
KANE Una	EHORB registration Env Health Degree MSc (Applied Micro)	A-E	Full
OGINNI Oladayo	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
PIPER Richard	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
POWELL Jamie	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
SIMMONDS Rachel	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
WHITCOMBE Ann	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full
WRIGHT Philip	EHORB Registration Env Health Degree	A-E	Full

Other Officers, within the Environmental Health Department (but not within the Food and Safety team), who are authorised are as follows:

Surname	First Name	Job Title
PARKER-HARDING	Richard	Head of Environmental Health
RANDOLPH	Mark	Senior Environmental Health Officer
BEAUMONT	Cathy	Deputy head of Environmental Health

The Council employs two Pest Control officers who assist officers in inspecting premises for pest activity and acts as expert witnesses in prosecutions.

Database

During 2023-4 the existing M3 database was replaced by Idox Public Protection Cloud. The Environmental Health Manager developed written procedures and delivered training, so all members of the team understood its use. The adoption of a new database created significant work, but this is repaid by the significant improvement in access (cloud based), connection to other web-based systems.

Staff Development

The shared Environmental Health service between Wealden and Rother has created resilience, improving collective knowledge and experience. Annual appraisals are conducted to identify training needs which form an annual training programme. In November we held a mock food safety trail with colleagues from legal services. A case was presented by one of the legal team, who called members of FAST as witnesses. The case was defended by another member of the legal team, who called others from within FAST as witnesses. Three members of the team acted as magistrates.

The exercise was very successful as it allowed everyone to practice giving evidence, with constructive feedback from peers. Another mock trial is planned for 2024.

During 2023-4 team meetings were usually held every six weeks in person.  Full notes of meetings are available on the internet library FAST Team Meetings | RIAMS

Team meetings are used to keep everyone updated on developments within the council and service. Service requests and inspections are peer reviewed.  Plans may be made for new work streams.  Newly qualified officers are assessed using the FSA competency framework and their authorisation is tailored with their development.

Sussex Food Liaison Group Meetings

Rother DC is represented on the Sussex Food Liaison Group by the Environmental Health Manager. This liaison work ensures that our enforcement activities are consistent with those of our neighbours.

In 2023-4 the food and safety team participated in two consistency exercises; these are blind tests designed to ensure that individual officers are consistent with other local authorities. The team score was generally consistent both locally and nationally.
Rother is represented on the CIEH Sussex Branch of the Food Study Group, and UKHSA meetings on infection control.

Quality Assessment

Each year Rother DC’s performance against this plan is measured, using all the specified targets, standards and any targeted outcomes within this plan. The review will specify where there has been variance from the plan and the reason for that variance. Any areas in need of improvement will be specified and an action plan put in place to implement their improvement. For 2024-5 the food programme is up to date. The target is to complete 98% of the planned programme by 31 March 2025.

The service subscribes to RIAMS, Food | RIAMS an on-line Environmental health library service, providing links to national advice and guidance for Environmental Health practitioners. In addition, there is material available on the FSA’s website and their communications hub. There is also a library of law encyclopaedias and reference books in the office.

Agreed and Approved

This Service Plan has been approved by the Head of Service, following consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder.

It is published on the Rother website and in the Member’s Bulletin.

Signed: R Parker-Harding

Mr R Parker-Harding BSc (Hons) MSc DMS CEnvH AMIOA
Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner
Head of Service-Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety

Date: 02 September 2024

Signed: K Field
Councillor K Field
Cabinet Portfolio Holder Environmental Health

Date: 02 September 2024

Contacts

Website: www.rother.gov.uk
Address: Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea
Telephone: 01424-787550
E-mail: foodhs@rother.gov.uk

AUDIT OF LOCAL AUTHORITY FOOD LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE DELIVERY OF OFFICIAL CONTROLS AND OTHER OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES AT APPROVED ESTABLISHMENTS
(ENGLAND)

Rother District Council & Wealden District Council Shared Food Hygiene Service
26th-27th September 2023

Selected extracts – Introduction, Scope, Background and Profile, Executive summary.
The full report is available from foodhs@rother.gov.uk

1.0 Introduction

1.1 This is a report on the outcomes of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSAs) audit of food hygiene service delivery, focusing on local authority (LA) approved establishments, conducted at Rother District Council and Wealden District Council on 26th-27th September 2023. The audit was carried out as part of a programme of audits on LAs in England.

1.2 The power to set standards, monitor and audit LA feed and food law enforcement services was conferred on the FSA by the Food Standards Act 1999 and the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009. This audit was undertaken under section 12(4) of the Act as part of the FSAs annual audit programme.

1.3 Regulation (EC) No. 625/2017 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, includes a requirement for competent authorities to carry out internal audits or to have external audits carried out. The purpose of these audits is to verify whether official controls relating to feed and food law are effectively implemented. To fulfil this requirement, the FSA, as the central competent authority for feed and food law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has established external audit arrangements. In developing these, the FSA has taken account of the European Commission guidance on how such audits should be conducted.[1]

1.4 Rother and Wealden District Councils shared Food Hygiene Service was included in this programme of audits as part of a geographical mix of LAs, with a range of different demographic characteristics and duties.

1.5 For assistance, a glossary of technical terms used within the audit report can be found at Annex C.

2.0 Scope of the Audit

2.1 The audit examined the Service’s planning, organisation, delivery, and internal monitoring arrangements regarding approved establishments. Assurance was sought that key Service systems and arrangements were in place and effective, including suitable arrangements for the internal monitoring of official controls delivered by the Service. The Service operates from Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea and Vicarage Lane, Hailsham which is where the on-site element of the audit took place.

4.0 Executive Summary

4.1 This audit of the shared food hygiene service (the ‘Service’) delivered by Rother & Wealden District Councils, sought to gain assurance that key systems and arrangements were effective regarding the approval of establishments, and that local arrangements for the delivery of relevant controls were managed and delivered effectively. Due to the often-complex nature of these types of businesses and their importance to the security and safety of other parts of the national and international food supply chain, these types of business are subject to additional hygiene requirements set out in specific legislation.

4.2 Auditors assessed the planning, delivery and monitoring of official controls and other activities delivered by the Service in relation to approved establishments.

4.3 Rother District Council and Wealden District Council had developed Food Hygiene Service Plans for 2023-24 to demonstrate how each LA planned to use its available resources to deliver official controls and other activities under its remit, including the delivery of controls at LA approved establishments. The Plans had been agreed and signed by the Head of Service and by the relevant cabinet portfolio holder and were generally in accordance with the statutory Food Law Code of Practice (FLCoP) and current guidance. 4.4 Whilst some elements of the Plans were reviewed and reported to the Partnership Board, a more comprehensive review of the previous year’s performance against plans would be beneficial to ensure cabinet members and the senior management team are aware of any issues relating to service delivery.

4.5 The Service had developed comprehensive documented policies and procedures covering activities delivered. These set out the Service’s approach and strategy and provided officers with guidance and instructions on how to deliver appropriate and effective official controls.

4.6 The Service had a system for authorising officers and officer authorisations were signed in accordance with the scheme of delegation. Officer authorisations did not include all relevant food hygiene legislation providing enforcement powers. Officer authorisations should be reviewed to include all relevant regulations commensurate with levels of officer competency and any appropriate restrictions.

4.7 There were 29 approved establishments within the remit of the shared Service. These included a range of approved establishments including dairies and cheesemakers, cold stores, egg packers and meat and fish product approved establishments all subject to additional legislative requirements.

4.8 Officers were generally able to demonstrate that businesses were being approved and assessed in line with requirements. Approval records were being maintained for each establishment and inspection reports that had been issued which were generally in accordance with legal requirements, although some gaps and inconsistencies in approach were noted occasionally.

4.9 There was evidence of comprehensive quantitative internal monitoring activities being undertaken, such as those relating to monitoring numbers of interventions. The Service would benefit from further qualitative monitoring to ensure the consistency and quality of the work being carried out by officers. Recommendations

4.10 Officers performing duties under The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and The Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009, need to be separately authorised in writing to deal with matters arising under these regulations. Authorisations should clearly indicate any restrictions placed upon an officer’s authorisation, where appropriate. The level of authorisation and duties of officers should be consistent with their qualifications, training and experience, in accordance with the FLCoP. The Service is advised to consult their legal advisors on this matter.

4.11 The Service should ensure that it consistently undertakes inspections at approved establishments and approves establishments in accordance with current requirements, and that comprehensive up to date accurate records are always maintained.

4.12 The Service should expand its risk-based internal monitoring procedures to cover all elements of service delivery to strengthen the Service and improve consistency in the delivery of official controls and other official activities.

Good Practice

4.13 Examples of good practice were identified during the audit. These included maintaining the accuracy of the food establishment database through social media searches and whistleblowing campaigns, publishing sampling programmes to make information available to businesses and consumers and in efficiently sharing key information with authorised officers within the team. These approaches are beneficial to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.