§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have for the introduction of licensing for food businesses. [37310]
§ Yvette CooperI am advised by the Food Standards Agency that there are no current plans to introduce new licensing provisions for food businesses.
1414WThe immediate priority for the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety matters, is to improve standards generally among food businesses. It is doing this through initiatives to increase the uptake of food safety management systems designed to enable food businesses to identify and control food hazards and the recently launched campaign to increase hygiene awareness among caterers.
The Board of the Food Standards Agency has indicated that it will keep the issue of wider licensing under review in the light of progress with these initiatives.