Issue - meetings

This report seeks approval to incorporate the recommendations of the Rogers Review into service plannning for environmental health, trading standards and licensing services.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Advisory Panel advise the Executive Member to incorporate into future planning activities and service plans, the national enforcement priorities as set out in paragraph 7, and the local enforcement priorities set out in paragraph 13.

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:  That the advice of the Advisory Panel as set out above be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:      To ensure that the Council’s approach to tackling national and local enforcement priorities are in line with government guidance.

Members received a report which sought approval to incorporate the recommendations of the Rogers Review into service planning for environmental health, trading standards and licensing services.

Members received a presentation titled National Enforcement Priorities for Local Authority Regulatory Services which explained the Rogers Review. In 2006 the government had asked Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of Westminster City Council, to head a review to examine the many areas of legislation that local authority regulatory services enforced.  The Rogers Review was published at the March 2007 Budget and its recommendations were accepted in full by the government.

The Review used a risk focused, evidence-based approach, taking into account the views of local authorities, including port health authorities, citizens, businesses, government departments and Ministers to help prioritisation from over 60 policy areas enforced by local authority regulatory services. The review team then carried out an initial sift of these 60 policy areas to identify the top five national priorities. The 5 national priorities (and a  ‘sixth limited’ priority) covered the following areas:

• Air quality, including regulation of pollution from factories and homes
• Alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment licensing and its enforcement
• Hygiene of businesses, selling, distributing and manufacturing food and the safety and fitness of food in the premises.
• Improving health in the workplace
• Fair trading (trade descriptions, trade marking, mis-description, door selling)
• Animal and public health, animal movements and identification – a time limited priority, but predominantly a rural issue.

The report also referred to the Roger’s criteria for local priorities which it was acknowledged that local authorities were best placed to understand and respond to.  The local priorities in the City of York Council proposed for 2008/09 for trading standards, licensing and environmental health services were:

• Tackling noise nuisance
• Preventing underage sales
• Ensuring healthy lifestyle (incorporates food standards, smoke-free and local environment issues)
• Providing educational support for local businesses to assist with their compliance with legislation
• Contaminated land

Officers confirmed that their next priority was to incorporate the priorities into their service plans.

In answer to questions officers gave assurances that they would also continue to focus on the issues of street cleaning, litter, dog fouling etc.

Consideration was given to the following options:

Option 1        

·        To incorporate the five national enforcement priorities and the proposed local priorities into future service planning activities.

Option 2

·        Not to incorporate these enforcement priority issues into future service planning activities.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Advisory Panel advise the Executive Member to incorporate into future planning activities and service plans, the national enforcement priorities as set out in paragraph 7, and the local enforcement priorities set out in paragraph 13.

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:  That the advice of the Advisory Panel as set out above be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:      To ensure that the Council’s approach to tackling national and local enforcement priorities are in line with government guidance.