Councils failing to meet legal responsibilities on food safety, says spending watchdog

Some local authorities are failing to meet their legal responsibilities to ensure food businesses comply with the law, the National Audit Office has said this month.

In a report, Ensuring food safety and standards, the watchdog noted that the proportion of hygiene checks of businesses (including detecting unsafe food) that were ‘due’ and successfully carried out rose between 2012-13 and 2017-18, from 82% to 86%.

However, less than half the food standards checks (to ensure food is what it says it is) that were due took place over this period, with only 37% carried out in 2017-18.

The report found:

  • The cost of delivering food controls in England in 2016-17 was an estimated £164m, with 73% of costs being met by local authorities and port health authorities.
  • Spending on food hygiene by local authorities fell by an estimated 19% between 2012-13 and 2017-18 because of funding pressures.
  • Food hygiene staff numbers declined by an estimated 13% relative to the number of food businesses in operation over this period, while food standards staff reduced by 45%.

However, the report said that most food businesses were meeting hygiene requirements, and levels of major food-borne illnesses had been broadly stable.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “The regulatory system is showing signs of strain with fewer food control staff in local authorities and delays in the checks they carry out on food businesses. This is at a time when the regulatory system faces increased challenges, particularly as we move towards new trading relationships after the UK leaves the EU.”

The NAO said that the public needed better information to make well-informed choices about what food to buy or what services to use.

“Food hygiene ratings for businesses are published online, but in England, where display is not mandatory, only 52% of businesses display food hygiene ratings in their premises, compared to 87% in Wales and 84% in Northern Ireland, where display is mandatory,” it said.

“The public also remain unclear on what information food businesses should provide about whether food contains allergens.”

The NAO said the Food Standards Agency recognised that it needed to respond to new risks and challenges and had begun reforming its regulatory system to help it better direct resources according to risk. “This includes changing how food businesses are registered and introducing national inspection strategies for food businesses with more than one site.”

The report warned that the FSA had found it difficult to progress its reforms in areas other than in relation to Brexit. Some of these reforms would require legislative changes, “but these may not be possible in the near-term due to the parliamentary programme being delayed by the government’s preparations for EU Exit”.

The NAO warned that the Government did not have a clear view on what a financially sustainable food regulation system should look like. “It is considering making businesses bear more of the costs of regulation, but there are concerns that this could burden businesses and local economies. The NAO has not seen evidence of joined-up strategic thinking about the level of funding needed for a sustainable system that protects UK consumers from future food risks, and how much local authorities and businesses should contribute.”

The NAO recommended in the report that within six months of the UK leaving the EU, the FSA and government should start to evaluate the medium- and longer-term impacts of EU Exit on the food regulation system and identify potential resource gaps. “Clarity is needed on what can be done to avoid incidents that may affect future confidence in the food system and trading relationships.”

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