§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 671, what factors underlay the variation between counties in the use of informal written warnings. [13243]
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§ Mrs. BrowningEnforcement of food safety legislation in the UK is the responsibility of local authorities and they have several courses of action open to them in dealing with breaches of food law. The use of written warnings will vary from authority to authority depending on the policies of that authority, the types of food premises in that area and the nature of breaches discovered.
§ Mr. PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors underlay the reduction in the number of improvement notices issued by English non-metropolitan district councils to establishments subject to food law enforcement between 1992 and 1995. [13210]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe issue of improvement notices was a new power available to enforcement officers under the Food Safety Act 1990. These figures reflect the expectation that there would be a large number issued during the first few years of the Act coming into force, and that this would fall to a lower level as businesses and enforcement authorities gained experience in the requirements of the Food Safety Act.
§ Mr. PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 671, what factors underlay the reduction in the number of establishments in Lancashire subject to food law enforcement between 1993 and 1995. [13241]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe fall in the number of establishments shown for Lancashire is consistent with an overall fall in the number of establishments shown nationally. The overall decline is due to additional guidance to local authorities which resulted in establishments being excluded from the statistics. This was either because they were not required by the European Commission to be included as part of this statistical return or because they fell outside the immediate planned inspection programme of the authority. All food premises, however, are subject to enforcement procedures and can be inspected regardless of whether they are included in the statistical return or not.
§ Mr. PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 671, what factors underlay the reduction in the number of establishments in Pendle subject to food law enforcement between 1991 and 1992. [13242]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe year 1991 was the first year these statistics were collected. Many local authorities experienced difficulties in setting up systems for collecting the statistics. It is not uncommon, therefore, for the 1991 figures to differ significantly from the 1992 figures.