Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cutkelvin.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Although not a member of the Commission, Councillor Sood, Assistant City Mayor (Communities and Equalities), declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting, in that she was Chair of the Leicester Council of Faiths, was a JHMT Board member and was a Patron for CLASP.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, these interests were not considered so significant that they were likely to prejudice Councillors Sood’s judgement of the public interest.  She was not, therefore, required to withdraw from the meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 7 January 2016 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 7 January 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions received

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case received

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported elsewhere on the agenda (if any).

Members queried when the report requested on the work that Voluntary Action LeicesterShire was contracted by the City Council to provide would be submitted to this Commission, (resolution 3, minute 44, “Task Group Review of Ward Community Meetings”, referred).  It was noted that it was likely to be received in autumn 2016.

The Chair reported that work had focussed on completing the review of the impact of gambling on vulnerable communities.  Outstanding issues could be added to the Commission’s work programme for future consideration.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report (Appendix B1) providing information on:

·           The food sector from a regulatory perspective;

·           The Council’s regulatory interventions;

·           Case studies illustrating the diversity of interventions; and

·           Key issues in the development of the national framework in response to the growth and diversity of the food industry and reducing local authority budgets. 

Also submitted are slides containing further background information, (Appendix B2).

The Commission is recommended to note the work undertaken by the Council’s public protection teams in this area and comment on issues raised.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report on public protection and regulation in Leicester’s food sector.

The Head of Regulatory Services presented the report, explaining that:

·           The city had approximately 3,000 food businesses at any time, approximately two-thirds of which were restaurants and caterers;

·           There was a high degree of churn amongst food businesses, with approximately 500 new businesses at any time.  This affected performance figures for compliance with food regulation requirements;

·           Some locations had a high level of churn, often with buildings that were less well built and/or maintained.  This also could affect the food safety rating these businesses received, as it was more difficult to prevent issues such as rodent infestations;

·           A key regulatory activity for officers was programmed inspections.  This included advice visits, inspections and follow-up visits;

·           82% of establishments in the city were now compliant.  However, the national average was over 90%.  The city’s figure reflected the high level of churn and that many businesses were located in old buildings that were difficult to maintain to the appropriate standards;

·           Nationally, the number of complaints about food establishments was rising, but the number of inspections was down, reflecting that resources available to local authorities had reduced;

·           The Food Safety Agency (FSA) was developing a Regulatory Strategy.  To date, no proposals had arisen from this, but it provided useful discussion points;

·           There currently was a lack of customer pressure to improve standards, possibly as customers did not see storage and preparation facilities at many food establishments; and

·           The Council did not have the power to fine businesses for food safety contraventions, but if legal action was taken against a business, the court could impose a fine.

Councillor Waddington, (Assistant City Mayor – Jobs and Skills), explained that food establishments currently were not required by law to display their food hygiene ratings.  The Council was campaigning for this to be changed and this campaign was supported by the FSA.  Councillor Waddington had written to the Department for Health requesting this and had received the reply attached at the end of these minutes.

The Team Manager (Environmental Health) advised Members that all regulatory visits to food establishments were unannounced.  Officers tried to visit these premises when they were busy preparing food, in order to get a better impression of arrangements.  If officers were aware of a language difficulty, they would try and arrange for a translator to be present.  In addition, the FSA produced some information in languages other than English.

The Food Safety Team Manager confirmed that cleanliness was one of the most important aspects of food safety.  This applied to all food premises, irrespective of their size.

The Commission noted that information on a premises’ food hygiene rating currently could be found on the Council’s website.  It also was noted that, although customers could ask a food establishment what its food hygiene rating was, the establishment did not have to tell the customer.  Local media often ran stories about failings in food safety, which were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

The Director of Finance submits a report setting out the processes and procedures undertaken by the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and the Council as part of the evaluation of food tenders and post-award during contract management.  The Commission is recommended to note these arrangements and comment as appropriate.

The Director of Finance presented a report setting out the processes and procedures undertaken by the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and the Council as part of the evaluation of food tenders and, post-award, during contract management.

The Director explained that, although the Council no longer procured some items through ESPO, in order to be able to use more local suppliers, its food procurement was undertaken through a framework contract with ESPO.  One reason for this was that the Council did not have expertise in establishing where food was sourced.  In addition, ESPO undertook assurance work, such as product sampling.  The Council did not have the resources to undertake this work itself.

The Head of Regulatory Services explained that, although food regulatory services did not have a formal working relationship with ESPO, when products had been found in food that should not have been there, the service was involved in detaining food, testing it and establishing its source. 

In reply to a question from Members, the Head of Regulatory Services confirmed that, although many suppliers and/or producers self-certified their compliance with the requirements of the food procurement contract, ESPO did test these assurances.  The City Council’s food regulatory services currently were not aware of any concerns about procured food.

It was noted that schools worked with a number of organisations on food procurement, including the Halal Food Monitoring Committee.  The Director of Finance undertook to establish whether schools also bought non-halal meat and to advise Members.

AGREED:

1)     That the Commission supports the informal training programme being undertaken to ensure that ESPO is able to interpret risk analysis data applicable to the Council’s procurement process;

2)     That actions being taken in relation to food products identified as not compliant be endorsed;

3)     That the procedures and arrangements followed by Education Catering in addition to external procurement controls be noted;

4)     That the Director of Finance be asked to establish whether any schools obtaining food through the framework contract with ESPO purchase non-halal meat and advise Members accordingly; and

5)     That all concerned be thanked for the work being done in relation to the procurement of food.

The Vice-Chair presents the report of the Task Group review of “The impact of gambling on vulnerable communities”.  The Commission is recommended to consider the recommendations in the report and comment as appropriate.

The Commission received the report of the Task Group review of “The impact of gambling on vulnerable communities”.  The Financial, Legal and Equality Implications for inclusion in the report were tabled at the meeting and are attached at the end of these minutes for information.

Councillor Gugnani, Chair of the Task Group, introduced the report, drawing attention to the following points:-

·           From an early stage, the review had attracted the attention of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), who represented powerful stakeholders in the gambling industry.  A complete session of evidence was received from the ABB’s top representatives;

·           Guidance and advice was received from the Local Government Association and the Gambling Commission, which both had followed the review with interest;

·           The Task Group had drawn on a wide range of expert evidence, including important research for Westminster and Manchester councils on the risk of gambling causing damage within communities.  Advice and guidance also had been received from Heather Wardle, the author of the research for Westminster and Manchester;

·           Departments across the Council had been very willing to provide information and work on projects within this review, which had been an important aspect of the review.  These included:

a)     STAR (Supporting Tenants and Residents), which had interviewed people to establish if they had gambling problems; and

b)     The Revenues and Benefits service had collated mapping information, identifying the location of betting shops in a range of social and economic contexts;

·           The mapping referred to above already had been used by the Council’s Planning service;

·           This review had identified that the government was not undertaking a scheduled review of stake limits on fixed-odds betting terminals;

·           One underlying issue identified was that it was assumed that many people were ashamed to talk about problems with gambling, so data was not being collected;

·           A wide range of recommendations had been made as a result of the review.  These included a proposed framework for measuring the risk of gambling within a particular area, which currently was not being done in most areas of the country; and

·           It was recognised that there were risks associated with this review.  For example, in other parts of the country, the gambling industry had put pressure on councils that wanted to take action through gambling licensing.

The Service Improvement Manager (Revenues and Customer Support) addressed the Commission, explaining that:

o    Modelling had been undertaken to predict the impact of the recommendations made in the Task Group’s report.  From this, it was apparent that the report provided a very good evidence base, with indicators that would be valuable in the future.  Members therefore were asked to endorse the recommendations made;

o    The work by Heather Wardle referred to above identified various things, such as mental health or substance abuse, which could have causal or tangential links to gambling.  These also had been mapped;

o    There had been concern nationally that gambling institutions had moved from “back streets” to city centres.  When mapped, it showed that these locations related very closely to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

The current work programme for the Commission is attached.  The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The Commission received and noted its current work programme.

The meeting closed at 6.58 pm