Environmental Health

responsibilities

• Environmental Health is divided into 5 different discipline areas.

• Different Councils organise their EH services in different ways – some have specialist officers and other have generic officers that cover all aspects.

EH remit:

• Routine food inspections of business, providing a Food Hygiene Rating Scheme score.

• Food complaints from members of the public.• Assist the Food Standard’s Agency with food recalls. • Investigation of infectious diseases – individual cases

and outbreaks to identify source and reduce risk of transmission.

• Approval of premises.

• Advice and training for food business operators.

1. Food Safety

• Enforcing authority for certain premises – others enforced by the HSE.

• Accident investigation.

• Public events – sit on the safety advisory group.

• Regulating activities such as piercing and tattooing

• New! … tattoo & skin piercing hygiene rating scheme launched May 2015 in Kent & Medway

2. Health & Safety

• Inspection of private rented sector of houses.

• Regulating and licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

• Advise tenants and landlords.

• Assist vulnerable owner occupiers e.g. filthy and verminous.

• Immigration inspections.

3. Private Sector Housing

• Monitoring air quality, Private water supplies and contaminated land.

• Investigation of complaints including noise, smoke and odour nuisances.

• Defects in neighbouring properties affecting neighbours (e.g. leaking guttering, broken soil pipes).

• Comment on consultations for planning and licensing applications.

• Regulate permitted processes.

4. Environmental Protection

• Project work e.g. healthy eating awards.

• Investigation of Infectious Disease

• Public health burials.

• Management of exhumations.

5. Public Health

• Port Health - including ship sanitation inspections and water sampling

• Waste enforcement – including commercial waste, fly tipping and littering.

• Pest control services. • Animal welfare – licensing of catteries, kennels etc and

collect stray dogs.• Accumulations in gardens.• Services to promote and improve energy efficiency.• Primary Authority partnerships.

Other areas