HC Deb 18 November 2003 vol 413 cc801-2W
Norman Baker

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people in each year since 1997(a) were in professional training to become environmental health officers and (b) entered the profession as environmental health officers. [139178]

Phil Hope

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold this information centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Employers Organisation for local government has provided some limited information taken from the Environmental Health Workforce Survey 2002. This survey shows that during 2002–03 129 student environmental health officers were due to qualify in England. During 2003–04 this figure is expected to increase to 159

During the 12 months up until 1 January 2002, 118 Environmental Health Officers entered English local authorities as first appointments.

Data for other years since 1997 is not available.

Norman Baker

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase the number of environmental health officers. [139179]

Phil Hope

The Local Government Association set up the Regulatory Services Partnership in July this year, in order to find ways of addressing the need to recruit and retain environmental health officers. The partnership includes the Local Government Association, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Local Authority Coordinators of Regulatory Services, the Improvement and Development Agency, the Employers' Organisation, the Trading Standards Institute and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

The Partnership's programme of actions is aimed at raising the profile of local authority public protection regulatory services with the community and within local and central government. The actions also aim to improve these services generally and address the recruitment and retention issues concerning Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standards Officers.

The need to improve local government recruitment, including that of environmental health officers, has been recognised in the Pay and Workforce Strategy for Local Government. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working with the Local Government Association and Employers Organisation to take forward the implementation of the strategy.

Norman Baker

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many environmental health officers were employed in each year since 1997(a) in England and (b) broken down by local authority area. [139198]

Phil Hope

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold this information centrally. The Employers Organisation for local government has provided some limited information taken from the "Environmental Health Workforce Survey 2002". This survey shows that in January 2002 there were 4,565 environmental health officers employed in English local authorities. Data for other years since 1997 is not available.

The survey provides a breakdown by type of authority and shows that 678 were employed in London boroughs, 880 employed in metropolitan districts, 2,299 employed in Shire districts and 708 employed in English unitaries.