Barrow Borough Council

The authority had developed a food safety service plan for 2008/2009, which had been approved by council members and was broadly in line with the service planning guidance in the Framework Agreement. However, future service plans would benefit from the inclusion of details of the staffing resources required to provide the food law enforcement service compared with the staffing resources available to the authority. Quarterly updates were provided to members about progress with the food hygiene inspection programme, complaints received, hygiene improvement notices served and samples taken. However, future service plans should include an annual review of the service’s performance, including measures taken to address variances in previous service plans and any required areas of improvement.

The authority had a comprehensive set of policies and procedures covering most food law enforcement activities, which had been reviewed in September 2008. In addition, documented operational guidance on prosecutions could usefully be developed.

Effective arrangements were in place to assess the competency of officers prior to authorisation and all officers carrying out food law enforcement were correctly authorised in line with their qualifications, training, experience and competency. The authority provided good training opportunities for staff and individual training needs were assessed at annual appraisals, with a training plan produced for each officer.

The service had structured arrangements in place for ensuring that the food database was up to date and, in general, information entered on to the system, relating to inspections and other food law enforcement activities, was accurate. However, a few minor anomalies on database reports examined during the audit and in recent statistical monitoring returns to the Agency should be resolved to ensure that the accuracy of the data exported to the Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) is not compromised.

Database record checks confirmed that the authority was implementing an effective risk-based food premises inspection programme, with higher risk food hygiene inspections generally being carried out at the frequencies specified within the Food Law Code of Practice. Although it was clear that officers were assessing the compliance of premises during inspections, there was not enough information recorded in every case to clearly determine the extent of HACCP system verification.

Audit checks identified some establishments that may need approval, in addition to the existing approved meat products establishment. The authority should therefore regularly review the activities undertaken by food businesses in their area so that relevant establishments are approved, where necessary.

The service had developed a detailed internal monitoring procedure and it was clear that, generally, extensive internal monitoring was being carried out across all areas of the food service, with monitoring records being maintained. However, the service should document its consideration of the authority’s enforcement policy when decisions are taken to instigate legal proceedings.