1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Mission Statement
4. Aims and Objectives
5. Compliance with National Policies
6. Enforcement
7. Authority Profile
8. Work Achieved 2025-26 and plan for 2026-27
9. Resources
10. Competency and Consistency of Officers
11. Customer Survey
12. Complaints Against the Service
13. Disclosure of Information
14. Agreed and Approval
15. Contact Details

Introduction

1.1 This Health & Safety service plan is an expression of Rother District Council’s continuing commitment to regulating Health & Safety at work.

This service plan 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

Rother District Council commits to the joint Statement of Commitment between local authorities and HSE Regulatory Services. Statement of commitment between: Local Authority and HSE Regulatory Services – HSE

1.2 The Better Regulation Office publication ‘National Enforcement Priorities for Local Authority (LA) Regulatory Services’, placed Health and Safety at Priority number four – ‘Help people to live healthier lives by preventing ill health and harm and promoting public health’. Priority Regulatory Outcomes (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Background

2.1 Health and Safety legislation in Great Britain is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive or one of the over 380 local authorities (LA) depending on the main activity. In general LA’s are the main enforcing authority for retail, wholesale distribution and warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, and the consumer/leisure industries. Local authorities are not responsible for – agriculture, horticulture, forestry, medicine (hospitals, GPs, dentists etc) mining, open land, quarries, and railways.

2.2 Each local authority is an enforcing authority and must make adequate provision for enforcement. The LA National Enforcement Code introduced in May 2013 sets out the principles that each local authority should follow to ensure a consistent, proportionate and targeted approach to regulation based on risk.

2.3 Local authorities use different approaches to regulate businesses, including;

• provision of advice and guidance to individual businesses or groups
• proactive interventions including inspection.
• reactive interventions e.g., to investigate an accident or complaint.

2.4 Local authority inspectors may use enforcement powers, including formal enforcement notices, to address risks and secure compliance with the law. Prosecution action may be appropriate to hold those to account for failures to safeguard health and safety Local authority enforcement – HSE and LAs Working together – HSE

2.5 Within Rother District Council this duty is carried out by Environmental Health Officers within the Environmental Health Department.

Mission Statement

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

Aims and Objectives

Aims:

To enable the service to use its resources in an efficient and effective way, to promote compliance with legal obligations under health and safety law, and to take robust action where there is serious non-compliance that puts the safety or health of those at work, or the public at risk.

Objectives:

1. To contribute to the growth of local businesses through the provision of proactive and reactive advice and guidance and contributing to a level playing field for business.
2. To investigate complaints and reports of incidents that meet the incident selection criteria and complaint handling criteria set down by HSE.
3. To target a range of interventions on prescribed national priorities and local intelligence-based priorities.
4. To work in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and others to deliver this service plan.
5. To support the Primary Authority Scheme.

Compliance With National Policies

All health and safety regulatory activity carried on by Rother District Council must conform to the requirements of the National Local Authority Enforcement Code. The Code requires that all health and safety law enforcement be proportionate in applying the law and securing compliance; consistent in approach and targeting of enforcement action; Rother Council must be transparent and accountable about how we operate and what those regulated may expect. Rother Council must ensure that health and safety priorities and interventions are targeted in accordance with the mandatory HSE guidance – Local Authority Circular 67-2 (2026-29) Setting priorities and targeting interventions – HSE and LAs Working together – HSE

5.1 Interventions are carried out in accordance with written procedures which reflect the nature of the activity under consideration. Officers have regard to the regulations made under Section 15 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the codes of practice which are issued under Section 16 of the Act, when enforcing the provisions of the Act.

5.2 In accordance with HSE and LGA advice issued 1st April 2011, food hygiene and health and safety interventions will be joined where appropriate to minimise burdens on local businesses.

5.3 RDC is committed to meeting statutory duties under Equality Act 2010. We aim to place equalities at the heart of our service planning and decision-making processes. Equalities at Rother District Council – Rother District Council

5.4 This plan provides a documented system for officers’ guidance and information and to facilitate inter authority or peer review audits.

Enforcement

6.1 Rother District Council recognises the emphasis placed on enforcement by the guidance of the HSE and LG Regulation (published in May 2011), in particular the need for enforcement action to ‘Maintain a strong deterrent against those who fail to meet their H&S obligations and put their employees at material risk thereby also deriving an unfair competitive advantage’.

6.2 Rother District Council adopted an enforcement policy for the shared Environmental Health service in October 2014, Cabinet minute 14/31 is available at: EHEnforcementPolicy.pdf (rother.gov.uk)

Officers carry out enforcement in line with this enforcement policy as well as being guided by the Health and Safety Executive’s Enforcement Policy Statement and the Enforcement Management Model. Service standards and this plan can be found at Service standards – Rother District Council

Authority Profile

7.1 Rother’s District has a population of approximately 93,100 and covers an area of 511.8 Km2 (ONS 2021). It comprises rural, coastal, and urban areas with three main towns – Bexhill, Battle and Rye. The businesses within the district reflect this diversity with care, tourism and leisure being the largest sectors.

Bexhill, the main urban development, has a significant care industry which is manifest in a high number of care homes. Battle is a year-round tourist destination. Rye and Camber are popular summer tourist attractions with Rye Harbour the location of several industrial estates. Battle, Robertsbridge and Rye all hold large annual bonfire celebrations in November which are distinct to this area.

7.2 Health and Safety work is carried out by officers who also conduct food hygiene inspections, infectious disease investigations, commercial and residential caravan site licensing, kennel and cattery licensing, risk assess private water supplies, pest control and stray dog control. The team also participate in Project Discovery, a multi-agency team dealing with Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

7.3 The team operates from the Town Hall Bexhill on Sea and the Civic Offices Hailsham from 8 30 am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 4 30 on Friday. The service operates an agile working system. Planned out-of-hour work is undertaken and emergency calls are received by a standby system Conserv Care on 01424 787868.

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 are delegated to Cllr. Field who 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.

flowchart TB
    accTitle: Senior Management Structure
    accDescr: Organisational structure showing reporting lines from the Chief Executive

    A[Chief Executive]

    B[Director of Governance and Community Services]
    C[Director of Resources]

    D[Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety]
    E[Head of Planning]

    F[Heads of Corporate, Neighbourhood & Strategic Services]
    G[Head of Digital and Customer Services]
    H[Head of Housing and Strategic Assets]

    A --> B
    A --> C

    B --> D
    B --> E

    C --> F
    C --> G
    C --> H

Rother District Council core values are; Respect, Open, Outcomes and Together.

Environmental Health Structure

This chart shows the structure for the Environmental Health service for Rother District Council. A total of 21.75 full time officers are engaged in Environmental Health work. The health and safety service costs Rother £103,528.

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 \n Four 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 work is carried out by the Food and Safety Team as part of the shared Environmental Health service and interlinks with neighbouring local authorities, Health and Safety Executive and Regulatory Delivery (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) and Sussex Police.

In recent years recruitment to Environmental health has been difficult. To meet our future need for qualified Environmental health Officers we have five officers working fulltime within the service, who are also EH apprentices. Each is expected to qualify in the coming four years.

Work Achieved 2025 – 26 and Plan for 2026 – 27

Our work plan uses a range of interventions, advice and guidance, spotting safety problems during food hygiene/licensing inspections, reactive investigations into accidents and complaints, taking appropriate actions and working with partners on traditional Sussex bonfires.

8.1 Provision of advice and guidance

1. Rother DC offers advice to business through its Support and advice page
   There is a range of local and national advice including specific information for rural businesses, local partnerships and regeneration projects.
2. Rother District Council offers support for those starting up new businesses at Advice, support and training page
   Environmental Health Officers offer advice on health and safety at work including those thinking of starting a new business. 
   Health and safety – the basics for business – is at Health and safety at work – the basics for business

8.2 Matters of Evident Concern

During food hygiene and licensing inspections, officers may spot safety problems which need immediate action to remediate the risk. These matters of evident concern were not the reason why the officer is on site but were self-evident and could lead to serious personal injury or illness. Twenty-three such reports were made in 2025-6, including;

• No carbon monoxide monitors in commercial kitchens using gas
• Leaks from fridges onto commercial kitchen floor
• Insecure 47kg LPG cylinders in/outside commercial kitchens
• Lack of handrails on stairs in working areas and into basements
• Shop shelves stocked too high and aisles cluttered with stock on floor
• Electric kettle balanced on top of shop stock

During an inspection to a new food business, the Environmental Health Officer noticed two cylinders of propane gas in use with pizza ovens; he expressed his concern about the use of propane indoors, the lack of ventilation and the use of flexible cables.

Gas Safe were consulted and they confirmed the installation was unsafe. The officer issued a prohibition notice, banning the use of the installation. The business responded positively, and within days had a new gas installation and system for the pizza ovens.

8.3 Accident and Incident investigations

i. All reported accidents, incidents (RIDDOR or adverse insurance reports) and complaints are subjected to the HSE’s incident selection criteria and complaints handling criteria.  This means that each complaint is investigated if it poses a significant risk to safety or health. The full policy is available at Food and Health and Safety Complaint Investigation Policy – Rother District Council

ii. Thirty-five accidents at work were reported to Rother DC in 2025-6. Sadly, two were fatalities. A member of the public died in a shop in Bexhill; this is under investigation. Another person died in Bodiam castle during a historical re-enactment – the investigating officer is due to appear before the Corners Court to report his findings in August 2026. A very serious accident was reported when a contractor fell six meters when putting up a marquee at an outdoor entertainment venue. Although he survived the fall, he suffered lifelong injuries. This investigation has completed and an enforcement notice has been served.

iii. Twenty-six service requests were received from the public in 2025-6 about safety standards within businesses. One complaint alleged that their local shop was difficult to walk around because stock was blocking the aisle and fire escape. Our visit confirmed this unsafe arrangement and quickly instructed the business owner to organise stock and deliveries, so the shop aisles were free, and the fire escape is kept clear. In January a food business contacted us because the downpipes from the flat above their shop were broken and had poured water and waste into their rear yard, where their food deliveries arrived daily. We visited, spoke with owner of the flat, and the owner of the property, identified the defective downpipes and instructed remedial works be carried out quickly. This was done.

Photographs show the defective downpipes on the left-hand side, and the repaired on the right-hand side.

In another case, a member of the public contacted us to report that a handrail had collapsed, when in use, causing the person to roll down the bank. We contacted the owner and repairs were carried out.

Photograph on the left shows the collapsed handrail on the day of the incident.

The photograph on the right shows the handrail renewed.

8.4 Enforcement

A prosecution is being brought against a caravan site for dangerous conditions and breach of the caravan site licence. The caravan site owners have pleaded not guilty, and the case is listed for a trial in Worthing Magistrates Court in July.

An enforcement notice was served on a large commercial kitchen as their mechanical ventilation was inadequate, it was in poor condition and was at risk of catching fire.

The picture on the left shows the old system in poor condition; the picture on the right shows the new system in full working order.

8.5 Safety Advisory Groups

v. Traditional Sussex bonfires and large outdoor entertainments are held throughout the district. Some of these events are held on Council owned land and attract very large numbers of visitors. These events can pose crushing and burning risks in crowds. This work is recognised as a national priority as suitable for proactive intervention by local authorities to prevent injuries to members of the public.

vi. To protect public safety Rother DC chairs Safety Advisory groups for Battle, Robertsbridge, Rye, Northiam, Ewhurst & Staplecross bonfire celebrations. RDC also chair safety advisory groups for Party in the Park Polegrove and events on private land such as The Rye Jazz festival.

vii. In 2025-6 five SAG meetings were held, some in person, others online, to review risk assessments and event arrangements. Overall, the bonfire events were safe and passed without major incident.

8.6 Violence At Work

As planned, we visited 20 small retailers and four betting shops to assess employee safety in relation to violence at work.

Violence at Work has been identified by the HSE as a national priority suitable for proactive inspection where employees are vulnerable because of lone working, nighttime working, handling cash, anywhere Police and Licensing advise there is an increased risk of violence to workers.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that 642,000 incidents of violence at work in 2023/4. Emergency responders and care staff suffer the highest rates of attack, followed by those in retail. When the Union of Shop Workers asked their members why they were attacked at work they answered – frustration of customers (while in queues); trying to stop shoplifting; harassment (racial and sexual) and enforcement of the age limit on alcohol.

The aim of the project was to redcue the likelihood and severity of violence to retail workers. The Police and the Community Safety coordinator identified those retailers that have reported violence to their staff. We visited these retailers and examined their layout and design, security measures, and risk assessments. We gave advice and strongly encouraged membership of the DISC scheme, which is designed to support retailers by linking directly and confidentially to the police.

DISC is provided to Rother’s businesses free of charge.

Disc – Rother Business Crime Partnership

The betting shops were aware of the issue and all had CCTV, and risk assessments. Although they appreciated the scheme, they did not join it.

All the small retailers were aware of the issue and many had stories to tell.

A worker in Manor News Bexhill was threatened with a knife as part of a robbery in 2024. The perpetrator returned the next day and threatened the same employee again. The 22-year worker fled the shop and was too traumatised to return to work. Police identified the suspect who had broken his release terms and was returned to prison.

Many reported the regular shoplifting of alcohol by adults and sweets by children.
Sometimes shop keepers were resigned, thinking there was nothing they could do to protect their employees and business. Most had not heard of the DISC scheme, but once explained, they welcomed it as support for small businesses. As well as selling goods, most small retailers act as delivery and collection points for couriers.

Advice was given on making the shop layout clear, free from parcels, so they could see customers. All were encouraged to install CCTV, door locks, secure areas behind the counters. Most were unaware of their obligation to report accident/incidents at work, RIDDOR.

One small retailer in Bexhill reported thefts as out of control. Officers saw a shop that was over stocked with goods on the floor, partially blocking the aisles and stacked up to the ceiling. This overstocking is a tripping and falling hazard, but it also restricts visibility to employees. The business was encouraged to join DISC and to accept advice on retail layout.

Three months later a revisit was made, and the business had significantly improved their health and safety. They had joined DISC and were delighted to report that thefts had dropped significantly.

It is disappointing to report that only three businesses joined the DISC scheme after our visits. There are a few reasons for this – national companies will not participate in a local initiative; some people don’t follow up on advise given; a very small number do not want surveillance, nor to co operate with the authorities.

8.7 Plan for 2026 – 27

We will continue giving advice to businesses, responding to complaints from the public, investigating acidents and taking enforcement where necessary. We will also continue with the safety advisory group work.

We will raise awareness of the need to report accidents at work through the RIDDOR system www.hse.gov.uk/riddor. The number of accident reports received are very small (35 in 2025-6), compared to the number of businesses in Rother (4600 – Rother State of the District 2025). Not all accidents are reportable, not all businesses in Rother are subject to local authority health and safety enforcement, but we would expect to receive more than a hundred reported accidents annually. We plan a campaign to remind all businesses of their obligations about accidents at work.

The results of the Violence at Work project are shared with local police – we have highlighted those businesses that were difficult to engage with. We will continue the Violence at Work campaign with the petrol (filling) stations to assesses their safety standards for those working alone at night selling high value fuel and drinks.

8.9 Working with other regulators

The Food and Safety team will continue to work with Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire and Rescue, Southeast Coast Ambulance on safety at traditional bonfire events, other outdoor events and modern-day slavery (project discovery).

Resources

The number of full-time equivalent officers allocated to work on health and safety regulatory activity is 1.6. The list below is of all officers authorised by Rother DC under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. Note EHORB is the Environmental Health Officers Registration Board.

Environmental Health Officer	Additional Qualification	Level Authorisation	Level of Authorisation Enforcement
BINDING Amy	Env Health Degree Awaiting registration	A-C	Partial
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 Health and Safety Diploma	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

Environmental Health Officers outside the Food, Safety team who are also authorised:

Surname	First name	Job Title
PARKER-HARDING	Richard	Head of Environmental Health
MINNS	Greg	Senior Environmental Health Officer
RANDOLPH	Mark	Senior Environmental Health Officer
BEAUMONT	Cathy	Deputy head of Environmental Health
HAMPSON	Jon	Senior Environmental Health Officer
COBBY	Jo	Senior Environmental Health Officer

Database

The shared Environmental health service uses Idox Cloud to record all service requests, accidents and visits. Full written procedures are available to make sure that all information is recorded accurately.

Reference Materials

All reference materials and internal work procedures are stored on the RIAMS website. Health and Safety | RIAMS
In addition, there is material available on the HSE’s new online library HASLIB – Home. Within the Town hall there is a library of law encyclopaedias and reference books for all to use.

Competency and Consistency of Officers

The shared Environmental Health service between Wealden and Rother has created resilience, improving collective knowledge and experience. Rother District Council is active within the Sussex health and safety Liaison Group, bringing together local authorities engaged in health and safety enforcement.

Annual appraisals are conducted to identify training needs which form an annual training programme. In 2026-7 training will be about maintaining health and safety skills for electrical safety.

During 2025-6 team meetings were usually held every six weeks in person. At each team meeting service requests are peer reviewed to generate discussions and promote consistency. Full notes of meetings are available on the internet library FAST Team Meetings | RIAMS. 

Complaints Against Service

Rother operates a local complaints procedure which allows anyone dissatisfied with the Council’s service to pursue their complaint and expect a quick response. No complaints were made against the service in 2025 – 26, no ombudsman complaints were received either.

Customer Survey

A proportion of businesses are contacted online to seek their views on how we perform. These responses are collated and contribute to the performance management monitoring and reporting carried out by the Environmental Health Service. This includes acting where performance does not meet the expected standards.

Disclosure of Information

It is Rother’s policy that disclosures will be made on receipt of a written application under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Agreed and Approval

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

It is published on our website and in the Members’ Bulletin.

Signed: R Parker-Harding

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

Dated: 20 July 2026

Signed; Cllr K Field
Councillor K Field
Cabinet Portfolio Holder

Dated: 22 August 2026

CONTACT DETAILS

Address: Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex TN39 3JX
Website: www.rother.gov.uk
E-mail: foodhs@rother.gov.uk
Telephone: 01424-787000