Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Garry Kitchen (Co-optee) .

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 14^th August 2024 and the 10^th September 2024

The Panel considered the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 14^th August 2024 and 10^th September 2024.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the previous meetings be approved.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

No interests were declared

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Panel.

All items were considered in the public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.

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To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No public questions were received.

The Panel will consider the Food Safety Service Delivery Plan 2024.

Contacts:

Leanne Perry, Environmental Health Group Leader, Public Protection,

Environmental Health

The Panel considered an update on the Food Safety Service Delivery Plan 24-25 presented by Leanne Perry, Public Protection Group Leader. The Panel received a presentation which outlined:

·         The requirements of a Food Safety Service Plan.

·         The number and types of food businesses in Kirklees and the demographics of Kirklees.

·         The work undertaken and the enforcement actions taken in the previous year reporting against the priorities identified in the Food Safety Plan 2023 in compliance with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Codes of Practice.

·         The Priorities of the Food Safety Plan 2024 which were:

o   To continue to deliver official food controls in accordance with the FSA Codes of Practice and any other instruction received during the year.

o   To develop and expand the Steps to Success (STS).

o   To review the communications strategy, including a focus on use of social media.

o   To undertake place-based working in areas where there was a correlation between poor hygiene standards and areas of high deprivation.

o   To carry out consultancy work to educate business owners and support improvement.

o   To increase commercial sampling

·         The STS workshops had 4 key objectives which were:

o   To improve understanding of Food Business Operators legal responsibilities.

o   To improve knowledge regarding food safety.

o   To improve understanding of what officers were looking for during an inspection and how ratings were calculated.

o   To improve understanding of the importance of a documented food safety management system and to provide guidance to businesses in completing these.

·         After attending the workshop and receiving a follow up inspection, 95% of the food premises that attended an STS workshop were rated at FHR 3 or above (compliant with Food Hygiene Regulations).

·         There was also a reduction in officers time in completing re-visits and enforcement action, as well as a positive reduction in non- complaint food premises.

·         The FSA Audit September 2023 had a positive outcome and made 3 recommendations which had now been actioned and the audit had been formally closed.

In the discussion to follow the Panel raised the following questions and comments:

·         In relation to the increase in 3 types of bacteria listed in appendix 3, the Panel wanted to understand the reasons for the increase, and it was advised that the current increase shown in the data was largely due to travel abroad and the lifting of travel restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Panel were further informed that discussions were being held at a West Yorkshire level and further education was required around the issue going forwards.

·         In response to a question from the Panel in relation to the Council’s budget constraints it was advised that the team were fully staffed, and a training programme was in place to ensure that all staff could be trained in-house to become fully authorised in acknowledging national challenges around the recruitment of trained enforcement officers.

·         In response to a question from the Panel in relation to the move from voluntary closures to prohibitions it was advised that this was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider the Statutory Health & Safety Service Plan 24-25.

Conatct:

James Kaye, Environmental Health Group Leader, Environmental Health,

The Panel considered an update on the Statutory Health and Safety Service Plan 2024-25which was presented by James Kaye, Public Protection Group Leader. The presentation outlined:

·         The responsibilities of the Local Authorities and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in co enforcing provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974(HSAWA).

·         The responsibilities of Local Authorities, which included:

o   LA enforcement within 65% of all workplaces within Great Britain, accounting for over 2million premises - a significant role in keeping workers and members of the public safe while at work.

o   Generally overseeing health and safety in leisure, retail, office and warehouse environments.

·         The key aim of the work, which was to protect people’s health and safety by ensuring risks in the workplace were properly managed.

·         The service priorities for 2023/2024, which were to ensure risks in the workplace were managed properly by:

o   Having risk-based intervention plans focused on specific risk.

o   Use national and local Intelligence to inform service priorities.

o   Consider a wide range of interventions.

o   Work in line with Enforcement Code guidance (LAC) and be transparent in the approach by welcoming review by the HSE (LAE1 statutory return) and other critical friends. 

·         The key outcomes for 2023/2024, which included:

o   22 proactive investigations carried out at builders merchants and very few issues were found.

o   18 onsite investigations carried out to address the hazard of work-related stress in residential care homes.

o   74 reactive visits made to businesses to investigate serious accidents or serious health and safety complaints.

o   The blocking of an open mezzanine level following the serving of a prohibition notice.

·         The service priorities for 2024/2025, which included:

o   To continue to investigate all major accidents and Health and Safety complaints.

o   To continue the work-related stress project, including a key focus on residential care homes.

o   Planned preventive maintenance of Tyre and Exhaust Sector.

o   Raising awareness of pressure vessels in coffee machines

o   Gas safety in commercial premises, with a focus on identifying poorly maintained gas appliances and providing advice to the duty holder.

In the discussion to follow the Panel raised the following questions and comments:

·         In response to a question from the Panel in relation to the nature of injuries reported, it was advised that most incidents were minor such as slips and trips, but Kirklees would investigate any serious incidents. 

·         In response to a question from the Panel in relation to the focus on work related stress in residential care homes it was advised that the data suggested these workplaces were significantly affected and so this area was prioritised. This area of work also included Council owned care homes.

·         In response to a question from the Panel in relation to workplace stress and the impact of workplace culture in contributing to stress, it was advised that it was Kirklees’s role to alert businesses to their statutory duty and signpost them to online tools as well as to work with Public Health to promote mental health charities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider the work programme 2024/25

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel reviewed its Work Programme for the 2024/25 municipal year.

RESOLVED:  The Panel noted the Work Programme