Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Wellbeing introduced the report, explaining that the function of the Environmental Team came under her portfolio. She said that the report had been brought to the Committee following requests from Members for further information about the Environmental Health Department.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing said that the report included content on both the issues relating to the registration and regulatory oversight of food premises, and, although not within the remit of the Licensing Committee, the report also included information pertaining to the other activities licenced by the Environmental Health Team.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing said that despite the demands on the Environmental Team they had received external recognition, being awarded the RSPCA gold level PawPrints Award for their commitment to animal welfare and having their Air Quality Action Plan published on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website as an example of good practice.

The Environmental Health Service Manager drew Members attention to key areas of the report. He said that pages 35 – 38 gave an overview of the functions of the three teams within the department and included a table which gave a summary of the licences issued by Environmental Health.

The Environmental Health Service Manager said that it had been noted that content regarding private water supplies was missing from the report. He said that there were currently 1600 food premises within the district, and that this number fluctuated due to openings and closures.

The Environmental Health Service Manager said that the vacancy within the department for a Senior Technical Officer - Commercial had now been recruited to, with the successful candidate due to take up the post in November 2024. He said that due to staffing issues the department had focused on areas of high risk, which had caused the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to implement the Stage 1 improvement process. He said that as a consequence of an action plan being approved (as seen at Appendix A of the report) this action had been de-escalated as of April 2024.

The Chair thanked the Environmental Health Service Manager for his report.

Councillor Townsend asked for clarification of Power BI training, which could be seen in the action plan. 

The Environmental Health Service Manager said that Power BI was a reporting tool, which linked to the department’s data base and enabled information to be extracted.

Councillor Dunlop asked if the department were able to hold the Environment Agency (EA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to account.

The Environmental Health Service Manager said that they could informally approach and discuss matters with the EA and HSE, and that issues could be raised on a political level. He said that he would investigate if any other avenues were available.

The Chair asked for clarification of the three Executive Members who held portfolios within the department.

The Environmental Health Service Manager said that this was Councillor Hoskin for air pollution, Councillor Goldspink for housing and Councillor Hopewell for all other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193