Issue - meetings

That the the Food Service Plan 2023-24 be endorsed.

The Chief Officer (Planning, Environment & Economy) introduced the report to present the Food Service Plan 2023/24 for consideration and endorsement.  He provided background information and paid tribute to the work of the Food Safety and Food Standard Team during the Covid pandemic.  The Chief Officer advised that the Food Service Plan provided an overview of the Food Service in line with The Framework Agreement on Official Feed and Food Controls by Local Authorities April 2010. The Plan sets out the aims and objectives for the Service for the forthcoming year and how they were to be achieved.

            The Community Business and Protection Manager presented the report and referred to the main considerations.  The Team Manager – Food Safety and Food Standards reported on the key achievements for 2022/23 and the targets for 2023/24 as outlined in the report.

Councillor Mike Peers referred to page 20 of the report, targets for 2023/24 and page 59 and the number of programmed inspections for Food Hygiene and Food Standards in 2023/24 and commented that it would be helpful if the number of inspections to be undertaken in 2023/24 had been highlighted and details provided.  He also referred to the key achievements for 2022/23 on page 20 and the bullet point ‘A significant number of Feed inspections were achieved during a year that saw resource for Farm Feed inspections impacted by Avian Influenza virus’ and said it did not use the word “All” as in other categories.  He asked if the targets for 2023/24 contributed to the backlog of work outstanding. 

Councillor Peers referred to page 26 of the report, section 1.2, Links to Corporate Objectives and Plans, and asked how the Food Service Plan related to the priority area ‘Affordable and Accessible Housing’.

The Community Business and Protection Manager responded to the comments and concerns raised by Councillor Peers and explained the links to the Council Plan 2023-28. 

In response to the question raised by Councillor Peers around workload the Team Manager – Food Safety and Food Standards, referred to the data provided on page 62, appendix 3, and the number of feed inspections programmed and achieved.  She also provided explanation around resources and staffing allocation as detailed in Section 4 of the Plan.  The Team Manager said that the work which was overdue was predominantly low risk and would be prioritised following risk assessment and local knowledge and was detailed in Appendix 2 of the Plan.  In response to a further question from Councillor Peers she reported on how the risk categories would be prioritised and addressed. .  The Community Business and Protection Manager and Team Manager gave reassurance and explanation concerning the ability and experience of the Service to deal with critical or emergency incidents. 

In response to a question from Councillor Hilary McGuill the Community Business and Protection Manager advised that if a food business was taken over by a new proprietor it was their responsibility to ensure their staff were suitably trained to carry out the work. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19