Norfolk County Council

It was clear that the Authority supported the Home Authority Principle (HAP). The Authority had no formal agreements but acted informally for 40 food and 6 feeding stuffs businesses. An HAP implementation project was also being developed to aid consistency when dealing with businesses.

It was evident from file checks that officers were considering the HAP when carrying out food standards and feeding stuffs law enforcement work. Where referrals had been received from other local authorities, these were properly investigated and followed up. Appropriate referrals had been made to other local authorities that acted as home or originating authorities where necessary.

The majority of files examined were well ordered and showed that detailed advice was being given, particularly those for home authority and originating authority businesses.

The Authority was clearly working with food and feed businesses to help them comply with food standards and feeding stuffs legislation. Records indicated that advice was provided during enforcement activity which clearly differentiated between legal requirements and recommendations. Targeted comprehensive advice on feed issues was also being delivered.

The Authority was undertaking some promotional work, however, comprehensive promotional records were not always available. It was noted that the Authority was in the process of restructuring and had developed a new project management framework for certain planned projects from 2006/07 that would include advisory and promotional work. It was considered that this structured approach would assist in the planning, evaluation and recording of such initiatives.