Joint Food and Health and Safety Service Plan 2025 to 2026

The service will be delivered through:

• routine programmed inspection of food businesses, at a frequency determined by a risk assessment, with appropriate follow-up action
• proactive targeted inspections of businesses and service sectors where there is likely to be a greater risk of injury from those activities identified by national accident statistics and local intelligence with appropriate follow-up action
• assessment of relevant food hygiene premises to determine their food hygiene score in terms of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and which will be published on the Food Standards Agency website
• routine self-assessment questionnaires to low-risk premises
• triaging of new food business registrations to determine the potential risk posed to food safety and to aid prioritisation of inspection
• investigation of complaints with appropriate follow-up action
• investigation of accidents with appropriate follow-up action
• participation in national and local food sampling programmes
• appropriate training, development and monitoring of officers
• provision of information, coaching and advice to businesses about legal requirements and good practices
• provision of relevant food safety courses for food handlers and a chargeable advice service to businesses
• promotional activities to inform and encourage high standards in businesses
• promotional activities to educate the consumer in food hygiene and safety

Priority will be given to targeting those activities that pose the greatest risk to members of the public and employees by:

• the correct and uniform identification of high-risk areas during interventions and as a result of complaint and accident investigation and to concentrate efforts to reduce these risks
• focussing enforcement efforts on those businesses that pose the greatest risks e.g. those that are not broadly compliant
• ensuring efforts are focussed on persistent offenders
• ensuring compliance with the law
• engaging in those promotional activities for businesses and consumers, which are most likely to foster improved safety

Revisits to businesses will be undertaken in accordance with the relevant policy.

The FSA implemented a national recovery roadmap following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to bring category A and B and the non-compliant Cs and Ds back into the inspection programme, which was successfully achieved. However, this did not include the lower risk category Es and as such there are a reasonable number that are still awaiting an intervention.

The 2025/26 inspection programme, including those outstanding, has the following profile:

The local authority is required to report on its overall performance to the FSA on a six-monthly basis.

During 2024/25, 2162 interventions were carried out and 824 new food business registrations received.

During 2025/26, the focus will be to continue to make progress against the outstanding number of inspections in the categories D and E.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) continues to be well received by both the public and businesses. Businesses wishing to improve their rating following an inspection can apply for a re-inspection. Local authorities are able to charge for re-inspection requests to cover their costs; this is currently set locally at £260 and is on a cost-recovery basis. In 2024/25, 71 requests for re-inspection were received. Of these, 69 improved their rating and 2 remained the same. A number of online delivery platforms require food businesses to have a food hygiene rating of at least 3 before they can be on their database and as a consequence, we continue to see an increase in the number of applications for re-inspections.

Where businesses attain a 0-2 rating, a revisit is always undertaken to gain compliance. If at this visit it is found that the business would improve their rating, they are encouraged to apply for a re-inspection.

The Health and Safety Executive has set out a 10-year strategic plan ‘Protecting People and Places’ which sets out its key priorities to enable it to respond and adapt to a changing landscape.

To support the strategy, guidance has been published for local authorities (LAC 67/2 (2025/2026)) to aid the prioritisation of health and safety interventions. This identifies the national priorities based upon accident statistics and the associated high-risk activities and business sectors. These will form the focus of projects we will undertake during 2025/26.

The key areas of national interest are:

• asbestos – duty to manage
• respirable silica dust
• spa pools/hot tubs in the holiday sector – legionella
• cooling towers located in built-up areas
• work-related stress and mental health – ‘Working Minds’ campaign
• violence and aggression
• musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
• noise in the workplace
• animal visitor attractions – infection control
• planned preventative maintenance of equipment
• inflatables – safe operation and set-up
• trampoline parks – information provision and supervision
• gas safety in commercial catering – installation, maintenance and inspection
• electrical safety in hospitality settings with outdoor facilities
• safety in motorsport and motor leisure industries
• unlicensed adventure activity centres

The guidance is clear however, that there should not be an inspection without a reason and that other alternative interventions may be more suitable, for example advisory visits, publicity campaigns and seminars.

Unlike with food, the risk category of a business will not form part of the inspection programme and so will not be subject to any proactive interventions unless they come within one of the priority subject areas or local intelligence suggests the need for targeted interventions. In 2025/26 we will identify an area of project-based work which will aim to raise health and safety awareness and improve standards in either that particular sector or topic.

The Food and Health and Safety Enforcement Policies detail the policies relating to the investigation of complaints, whether they are about hygiene standards at premises, complaints about food purchased within the county, safety standards at premises or welfare issues. In 2024/25, 439 food related service requests were received, 249 concerning the hygiene of premises and 190 in relation to food itself. 45 visits were made following complaints or incidents relating to either reported accidents or concerns about standards at premises. Furthermore, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, 41 visits were undertaken at funeral director premises.

Buckinghamshire Council has established Safety Advisory Groups, the purpose of which is to collate information about an event to enable the emergency services to gauge its potential impact upon the local community, to identify beforehand any issues or concerns which may potentially arise and to give advice to event organisers. In 2024/25, 267 consultations were considered for a variety of events.

In addition, the team is responsible for the issuing of the General Safety Certificate for the Designated Sports Ground at Wycombe Wanderers Football Club and chair the statutory Safety Advisory Group for this stadium. The team has also been extensively involved in the inspection of food vendors and the hospitality provision at Silverstone Circuit and work in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council with respect to activities at the Circuit during the F1 British Grand Prix and MOTO GP including the associated camping provision for attendees.

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, employers and self-employed are required to notify the enforcing authority of any notifiable injury etc. The policy for the investigation of accidents is detailed in the Health and Safety Enforcement Policy and accidents are investigated according to the criteria within it. In 2024/25, 191 accident notifications were received.

The successful prosecutions completed in 2024/25 supports this approach.

The role of the Primary Authority is to act as a point of contact for other local authorities on policy issues, inspection programmes and when considering taking any enforcement action. The Primary Authority is able to prohibit that local authority from taking their enforcement action subject to an appeal process to the Office for Product Safety and Standards against the decision of the Primary Authority.

The Council has 7 established Primary Authority Partnerships with a variety of businesses.

These are:

• BFS Group Ltd (Bidfood)
• Bidfresh Holdings Ltd
• Culinera Ltd
• Hovis Ltd
• PGL Ltd
• Premier Foods Ltd
• the Royal Air Force

The team actively participates in the Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards Primary Authority ‘Single Point of Contact’ Model and, work with trading standards colleagues in establishing future primary authority partnerships with local businesses and trade associations where resources allow.

The authority is committed to ensuring that businesses are aware of the requirements of the law and good practice, and will wherever resources permit, provide advice to assist businesses. Such an approach helps to improve food hygiene standards and enables positive relationships to be built with businesses.

As part of its role in the Safety Advisory Group process, advice is given to event organisers on all aspects of Environmental Health, including food safety, health and safety, noise control, water supply and waste management. The group also co-ordinates responses from other external agencies.

A charge of £260 is made for those businesses who wish to have a re-inspection under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

We provide access to online food safety training courses that are accredited by QCA and the Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance Ltd.

In addition to advice being given to businesses, information is also provided for the public in the form of information on the website, social media and participation in National campaigns.

The policy in relation to sampling is detailed in the Food Policy and covers sampling of food, water and faecal and food samples as part of food poisoning investigations.

In 2025/26 the annual sampling programme will be drawn up to cover:

• food products manufactured locally
• UKHSA national and regional co-ordinated sampling
• imported foods
• locally co-ordinated sampling
• the intervention flexibilities for those businesses that are due an inspection and are broadly compliant

The sampling programme will be based on the following objectives and an assessment of the potential risks associated with the particular activity:

• to obtain recognised and usable microbiological standards for foods, via a nationally co-ordinated sampling programme
• to fulfil legal and government driven obligations
• to monitor those businesses whose standards of hygiene are less than satisfactory
• to check that food complies with statutory microbiological standards, where available
• to check that locally manufactured and handled foods are microbiologically safe
• to identify specific foodstuffs which are more likely to be microbiologically unsound
• to form part of the non-inspection official control programme for broadly compliant food businesses

It is recognised that good co-operation and co-ordination at a national and local level is necessary to achieve such objectives and the authority is committed to:

• participating in and co-operating with the UK Health Security Agency and Food Standards Agency’s national sampling schemes
• co-ordinating with adjoining local authorities and local UKHSA to agree locally co-ordinated sampling
• ensuring 10% of samples come from third country imported foodstuffs, in line with the Food Standards Agency requirements

The UKHSA operates a credit system for food samples and allocates credits towards our sampling work based on population size. Any samples taken over the credit limit are charged. Samples sent to the public analyst or third-party laboratories are also charged.

Below sets out the UKHSA national coordinated sampling programme. It is envisaged that this will account for 40 samples.

Planned study timings for 2025/2026 Programme: (these timings are subject to change dependant on the studies chosen).

Sampling forms an important part of the inspection programme with lower risk, broadly compliant businesses being sampled rather than having a full inspection. This approach provides an efficient and effective use of officer’s time, enabling greater focus on those businesses which continue to be non-compliant. Sampling is also performed on an ad hoc basis as necessary, generally in response to a complaint from a member of the public, as part of a food poisoning outbreak or during a routine inspection. It is envisaged that this would account for a further 30 samples.

As part of the revised inspection processes the use of bioluminescence analysis of hand and food contact surfaces provides rapid assessments of cleanliness and cross contamination. As well as demonstrating potential failures in hygiene arrangements, the visual nature of these tests also aids the educational aspect of the inspection.

Samples for microbiological analysis continue to be taken to the UKHSA laboratory at Colindale, London. Samples for examination will go to the Public Analyst, Hampshire Scientific Services.

a) To investigate all outbreaks of notifiable disease within the county in co-operation with the UK Health Security Agency:

i) to identify the cause of infection.

ii) to prevent the spread of infection.

iii) to educate and prevent re-occurrence.

iv) to establish whether there has been any regulatory contravention.

b) Promote the training of food handlers.

A Single Case Protocol and Joint Health Protection Incident and Outbreak Control Plan have been developed in consultation with the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control and Thames Valley UKHSA Centre which are reviewed on a regular basis.

Notified cases are followed up in line with the UKHSA protocols to identify the source and cause, and to establish whether the case is within a high-risk group. Such outbreaks involve a considerable amount of time and effort to investigate and control and as a consequence, other proactive work tends to be held in abeyance until the outbreak is concluded.

Food Alerts are the Food Standards Agency's way of informing local authorities and consumers about problems associated with food and, in some cases, provide details of specific action to be taken. They are often issued in conjunction with a product withdrawal or recall by a manufacturer, retailer or distributor.

Officers will carry out action specified in the Food Alert as instructed and in the most appropriate, expeditious and cost-effective manner possible to safeguard public health. Action will be taken in accordance with guidance issued by central government. Action taken in relation to Food Alerts associated with chemical contamination will be in consultation with Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards.

If a Food Alert needs to be issued following complaints or issues arise as part of the routine inspection programme, the guidance in the Code of Practice will be followed.

When necessary, the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control and Public Analyst will be consulted, and advice sought as to the public health significance of particular issues. Specialist experts will also be called upon as necessary. Appropriate resources will be allocated to resolving any food safety incident and alternative measures taken to deal with other work.

We will continue to work closely with our Primary Authority partners where their products may give rise to a food safety incident, providing advice and guidance and liaising with other regulators and the FSA as required.

The Authority has a number of formalised liaison arrangements with various public bodies and neighbouring local authorities. These include:

• iBerkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Food Liaison Groups – meetings to discuss current enforcement issues and to develop action plans to progress food and health and safety promotion and enforcement. Also in attendance are representatives from the UKHSA and National Food Crime Unit to discuss sampling results and programmes and the Health and Safety Executive
• Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards - to discuss joint initiatives and primary authority partnerships
• Thames Valley UKHSA Centre – meetings to discuss current infectious disease issues and to progress initiatives in outbreak control
• Buckinghamshire Council Safety Advisory Groups – meetings with event organisers to discuss event safety management and to highlight issues of particular concern, as well as meeting statutory requirements for designated sports grounds.
• Thames Water Utilities, Anglian Water and Affinity Water – meetings to discuss current developments in water quality and monitoring and to develop closer links between organisations
• The team also has links with other Council services e.g. Licensing, Planning, Building Control and Waste Management
• Officers will also work and exchange information as appropriate with other enforcement agencies such as HMRC and Thames Valley Police
• Participate in and contribute towards public health initiatives such as childhood obesity, smoking cessation and alcohol control

The value of safety promotions is recognised as an effective way of conveying safety information to both public and businesses and as a means of raising standards. National awareness campaigns are promoted via the council’s social media platform, but the primary tool is the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS).

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme shows how well food businesses are complying with food hygiene law. The scheme applies to all caterers and retailers handling and preparing open food to the public. The food business is given a sticker to display that shows their food hygiene rating out of 5. The ratings are made publicly available on a national website so that customers can make informed choices about the places where they eat out and purchase food, and through this, to encourage businesses to improve hygiene standards. Businesses are encouraged to display their rating. With the increased use of aggregators such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, who require a minimum rating to use their sites, businesses are seeing the increased value from participating in the scheme to increase their rating. In 2024/25, 71 requests for re-inspection were received from businesses that wanted to improve their rating. Of these 69 improved their rating.

The Food and Health and Safety Service Plan for 2024/25 contained an Action Plan. Progress against this is provided.