Local authority performance monitoring

LA delivery is a complex landscape, with competing priorities in term of risk-based delivery, and a single statistic cannot be seen in isolation as representative of ‘good progress’. 

Slides 6-8 are designed to help explain the various data sets that our Regulatory Compliance Division use to monitor LA delivery.

Performance is considered against the requirements of the LA Recovery Plan, agreed by the FSA Board in May 2021, in relation to getting back on track with carrying out interventions according to the frequencies outlined in the Food Law Code of Practice and prioritising and inspecting new businesses. However, other factors will require LAs to carry out reactive work, meaning we expect to see interventions taking place at establishments that have not been prioritised so far in the recovery plan. 

• Figure 1 and 2 provide a view of the performance of the LA system as a whole, and then using close to live data of activities of a subset of establishments, respectively. 
• Figure 3 and 4 provide information to highlight the potential level of unknown risk in the system and then, the activities by LAs aimed at managing those risks, respectively. 
• Figure 5 summarises the performance management activities the FSA is undertaking with LAs that have shown some cause for concern.

Local authority recovery plan

• ongoing specific legal requirements, surveillance, enforcement and urgent reactive work
• new and refreshed food hygiene ratings given following appropriate interventions
• FHRS re-visits requested by businesses - in line with timescales in Brand Standards/relevant statutory guidance.

Recovery plan progress - current RAG status

Local authority performance

Is this system as a whole targeting the risks?

• the recovery plan requires all establishments rated A and B for hygiene to have received an inspection by 31 March 2022 and 31 June 2022 respectively
• there has been a positive improvement in the system following a sharp drop in delivery in 2020/21, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
• the number of interventions achieved at establishments rated-A  increased by 155% from 1,236 in 2020/21 to 3,153 in 2021/22 and for establishments rated B by 73% from 8,786 to 15,195
• LAs have followed the requirement to carry out inspections at the higher risk A-rated establishments and where possible have started to tackle B-rated establishments.  

Figure 1 Total planned interventions achieved at A-rated and B-rated establishments*

*This data has been collected annually.  Data for 2018/19 and 2019/20 are typical years and provide a comparison with performance during the pandemic.

How are LAs delivering when we look a sub-set of establishment types?

• the analysis of FHRS data for ‘retailers' and ‘restaurants and caterers' allows us to look at LA delivery using close to live data
• reassuringly, within this subset of establishments, we are seeing LA service delivery increasingly coming into line with pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 2: All interventions achieved at retailers, restaurants and caterers

Local authority performance and FSA oversight

How are LAs managing new businesses and is there an increase in the level of unknown risk entering the system?

• the number of new businesses changes over time as new registrations come in and interventions of previously unrated businesses take place
• LAs reported 91,400 new registrations during 2021/22, but some businesses closed before receiving an inspection or never opened
• the number of unrated businesses has decreased as at March 2022, after the sharp increase reported in March 2021
• number of new businesses that need to be prioritised for inspection is decreasing, suggesting an improvement in the management of unknown risk in the system but there has been a small increase in businesses prioritised as high risk awaiting inspection since April. This is possibly due to LAs also dealing with other high risk businesses now due an inspection.

Figure 3 Number of unrated businesses on 31 March each year*

Figure 4 Prioritisation of new businesses (requirement since October 2021**)

*Data collected annually. We aim to ask for this in future temperature check surveys. 2018/19 and 2019/20 data are typical years to provide a comparison with pre-pandemic figures.
**July 2022 data covers Q1.

Status of LA engagement

• 28 cases remain open, from the end of year return (April 2022), where assurance has yet to be given that the Recovery Plan will be met or where an action plan is being monitored. This includes one LA escalated to Stage 2 of the agreed process for both food hygiene and standards. An action plan is in process of being implemented
• from the July 2022 temperature check survey covering Q1 2022/23, 45 LAs have been engaged with to clarify their position and challenge and support delivery of the Plan requirements
• since October 2021, we have closed 168 cases following engagement with LAs.

Figure 5 Status of LA engagement

The Performance Management assessment process aims to identify LAs of high or medium concern of not being able to deliver the Plan for food hygiene or food standards. However, intelligence has led to some engagement activity with those of low concern, and Wales and Northern Ireland routinely engage with all their LAs.