8 - Food Law Enforcement Actions Audit by Food Standards Scotland
North Ayrshire Council · 29 January 2026
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 29 January 2026 and its agenda
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 29 January 2026 Audit & Scrutiny Committee Title: Food Law Enforcement Actions Audit by Food Standards Scotland Purpose: To advise the Committee of Food Standards Scotland’s findings in relation to the arrangements in place in North Ayrshire Council to ensure adequate and effective food law enforcement across the Council area. Recommendation: That the Committee: a) notes the positive findings of the audit by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), as detailed in Appendix 2; and b) notes that further work will be carried out internally, and in conjunction with FSS, to improve the accuracy of data transferred from the Council’s database to the Scottish National Database (SND). 1. Executive Summary 1.1 In August 2025, North Ayrshire Council’s Environmental Health Section were selected for audit by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), focussing on enforcement actions in relation to food law. 1.2 On 5 November 2025, the findings of the audit were presented by FSS to Council officers and included the following positive conclusions: • Policies, including the Council’s Enforcement Policy, had recently been reviewed and are effective; • 2,000 interventions had been undertaken, and 11 notices had been served, since October 2022; • Enforcement action taken was effective, proportionate and timely, resulting in improved standards; • Notice wording was clear, easy to understand and included all required information; • An annual sampling plan is prepared by officers, targeting highest risk establishments and includes surveys undertaken on behalf of FSS; • Formal correspondence is reviewed by senior staff; • Validation inspections and peer reviews have been evidenced.
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1.3 The report also concluded that correlation between the Council’s database and the Scottish National Database (SND), maintained by FSS, was reasonable. However, it noted that there is a potential need for improved SND verification. 1.4 The auditors also highlighted the Council’s wish to implement more innovative working methods, using updated technology, but it was noted that costs had been a barrier to date. Officers will continue to explore the business case for any service changes in this regard. 2. Background 2.1 North Ayrshire Council has a statutory duty to deliver a programme of official controls, ensuring the requirements of food law within premises located in its area are met. When undertaking official controls, authorised officers must have regard to relevant provisions of the Food Law Codes of Practice (Scotland), and ensure actions are in accordance with the principles of Better Regulation, as outlined in the Scottish Regulator’s Strategic Code of Practice. 2.2 Where a food business fails to meet the required food law standards, enforcement action is taken in accordance with the Council’s Food Law Enforcement Policy and Procedures. Officers must act in a reasonable, proportionate, transparent and consistent manner, using the range of powers available. 2.3 The Council’s arrangements for the delivery of official controls is overseen by Food Standard Scotland (FSS). Performance is principally monitored through a programme of audits which seek to establish the adequacy of arrangements in place, either in their entirety or as focussed audits assessing individual areas. The overarching aim is to provide assurance that the delivery of official controls for food is compliant with Scottish and UK legal requirements and official guidance. 2.4 In August 2025, North Ayrshire Council was selected to receive a Food Law Enforcement Actions Audit. The aim of the audit was to assess and verify the arrangements in place to ensure the adequate and effective delivery of food law enforcement systems, procedures and actions in accordance with the Audit Brief (attached at Appendix 1, issued by FSS in June 2025). 2.5 The audit took place from 6 October 2025 and consisted of an online meeting and a desktop review of policies, procedures and database information uploaded by the Council’s Lead Food Officer. In addition, a comparison was made between the Council’s information submitted and that transferred to the Scottish National Database (SND), which is owned and maintained by FSS. 2.6 The auditors met with the team responsible for food enforcement on 5 November 2025 and presented their findings via a PowerPoint document, which is attached at Appendix 2. 2.7 The auditors concluded that: • The Authority provided an Enforcement Policy, which was last reviewed and approved on 5 June 2024. Other policies and procedures in place had recently been reviewed and are effective.
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• Over 2,000 interventions had been carried out, with 11 enforcement actions taken since 1 October 2022. Correlation between the data held on the Food Enforcement Database (FED) and the SND was reasonable. Further investigation and resolution of some enforcement code mappings is required to verify that the data captured in SND accurately depicts data held in the FED e.g. enforcement actions, approved establishments and revisits. • Enforcement action taken was effective, proportionate and timely, resulting in improvements in standards. • For the files reviewed, enforcement notice wording was clear and easy to understand, listed legislation contravened and works required to comply. Appropriate timescales were given and right of appeal to the relevant court was included. • A sampling plan is prepared each year, with sampling targeted at the highest risk establishments, in addition to undertaking FSS surveys. • More innovative working methods are being considered, using updated technology, however implementation costs have been a barrier to date. Officers will continue to consider the business case for any service changes in this regard. • Formal correspondence is reviewed by senior staff; evidence of these reviews requires to be recorded on the Environmental Health IT system. Validation inspections and peer reviews were evidenced. • There is a potential need for improved SND data verification. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that the Committee: a) notes the positive findings of the audit by Food Standards Scotland as attached in Appendix 2; and b) notes that further work will be carried out internally and in conjunction with FSS to improve the accuracy of data transferred from the Council’s database to SND. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The financial implications arising from the introduction of innovative methods of working and associated technology, as recommended by FSS, have yet to be quantified and will be the subject of a detailed business case. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 North Ayrshire Council has a statutory duty to deliver a programme of official controls, ensuring the requirements of food law within premises located in its area are met. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None.
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Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 An adequate and effective system of food law enforcement ensures that robust governance arrangements are in place to fulfil the Council’s statutory duties, manage risk and support delivery of key priorities pertaining to Wellbeing and having a Sustainable Council. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 None. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 4.9 None. Consumer Duty 4.10 Having a robust system of food law enforcement in place contributes to the core principles of ‘safety’ and ‘information’ which must be considered under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 by ensuring consumers are adequately protected from risk of harm, and that information is available to make good choices or undertake action. 5. Consultation 5.1 None. David W. Hammond) Executive Director (Communities and Housing) For further information please contact Scott McKenzie, Senior Manager (Protective Services), on 01294 324347. Background Papers None.
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FSS/ENF/25/002 1 Audit Assurance Audit Brief & Plan Local Authority Food Law Enforcement Actions Audit June 2025 DATE OF ISSUE: 18 JUNE 2025 REVISION DATE: (TBC, IF REQUIRED) VERSION NUMBER: 1.0 NUMBER OF PAGES: 5 Version History VERSION NO. DATE DESCRIPTION OF CHANGES
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FSS/ENF/25/002 2 1. Introduction 1.1 The power to set standards, monitor and audit the performance of enforcement authorities was conferred on Food Standards Scotland (FSS) by section 3 of the Food (Scotland) Act 2015 and Regulation 7 of The Official Feed and Food Controls (Scotland) Regulations 2009. 1.2 In addition, on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed or food law includes a requirement for competent authorities to carry out internal audits or to have external audits carried out. 1.3 To fulfil this requirement FSS, has established external audit arrangements in respect of competent authorities. These arrangements are intended to ensure competent authorities are providing an effective and consistent service for the delivery of official controls and are meeting the general criteria laid out in Regulation (EU) 2017/625. 1.4 In delivering the audit function, FSS follows the guidance provided by the Commission on the implementation of the provisions for the conduct of audits under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and applies a systematic approach in relation to the planning, conduct, follow up and management of audits. All UK Competent Authorities should strive to follow this guidance. 1.5 Further information on the Local Authority (LA) performance monitoring and audit function is contained within the Audit Charter. 2. Audit Background 2.1 LAs have a statutory duty to enforce the requirements of food law. Regulation 5 of the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 sets out the division of enforcement responsibilities between LAs and FSS in respect of the Hygiene Regulations. Schedule 5 of the Official Feed and Food Controls (Scotland) Regulations 2009 as amended, sets out the competent authority for each of the articles within Regulation (EU) 2017/625. In addition to food safety matters, the Food Safety Act 1990 provides protection for other consumer interests in relation to food. In enforcing the requirements of food law, LAs must have regard to relevant provisions of the Food Law Codes of Practice (Scotland) and discharge their statutory duties as effectively as possible, using means that are most appropriate to the circumstances. In fulfilling these duties, LAs should also have regard to the principles of Better Regulation as outlined in the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice. This provides a framework for regulation in Scotland. FSS’s statutory duties include oversight of LAs’ arrangements for the delivery of Official Controls. This includes performance monitoring (which may include a programme of audits) of LAs’ arrangements to meet the requirements of food
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FSS/ENF/25/002 3 law, production of audit reports and associated action plans. 2.2 When required, enforcement action is normally taken in accordance with each LA’s Food Law Enforcement Policy and procedures. Enforcement should be conducted in a reasonable, proportionate, transparent and consistent manner. Where a food business fails to meet the required food law standards, authorised officers have a range of powers available to them to deal with non- compliance. In deciding the type of enforcement action to take, an authorised officer must have regard to: • the nature of the breach and the history of compliance of the food business operator; or • in the case of new businesses, an assessment of the food business operator’s willingness to undertake the work identified by the officer. 3. Aim and Scope 3.1 The aim of this audit is to assess and verify the arrangements in place at LAs to ensure the adequate and effective delivery of Official Controls, specifically enforcement actions, in LA establishments. The focussed audit will: • Verify that official controls are carried out in compliance with planned arrangements; • Verify effective implementation of planned arrangements by LAs; • Assess whether planned arrangements are suitable to achieve the objectives of the relevant legislation; • Disseminate good practice; • Identify issues that relate to FSS delivery policy and where appropriate, make recommendations which affect those policies. 3.2 It is intended that the scope will cover the following areas as set out in legislation and the Codes of Practice: • An evaluation of the organisational, planning and management systems in place regarding official control delivery and the LA approach to enforcement in food establishments; • An assessment of documented policies and procedures; • Authorisation and competency of officers (qualifications, training & experience) involved in the delivery of official controls; • Food Enforcement Database (or spreadsheet equivalent records); • Enforcement Actions including notices served, food seizures, and reports to the CoPFS. • Internal monitoring arrangements. 4. Review Process 4.1 This audit will focus on examining evidence to verify compliance with planned arrangements, verify that the planned arrangements are applied effectively and assess whether the planned arrangements are suitable to achieve the
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FSS/ENF/25/002 4 objectives. This will consist of a documentation review and a findings meeting with the LA. For consistency, a standard audit checklist will be used throughout. 4.2 The Audit process will consist of 3 stages: Stage 1: Each LA selected for audit will be issued a questionnaire requesting information relating to enforcement activities which will then be subject to review. Stage 2: This will comprise of a desktop review carried out by the auditors to analyse and review the information received. If further information / documentation is required, auditors will be in contact with the LA to request this during this time. Initial findings from this analysis will inform and direct stage 3. Stage 3: Meeting with each LA where the auditors will verify the information received and examined in stages 1 & 2 and present their findings. 5. Audit Criteria and Reference Documents 5.1 The audit criteria are the legislation, policies, procedures, or other requirements used as a reference against which evidence is compared, i.e., the standards against which LAs’ activities are assessed. For the purposes of this audit the main references will be: • Regulation (EU) 2017/625 • Food Law Code of Practice (Scotland) 2019 • The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 • Regulation (EC) No178/2002 • Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 • Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 • The Food Information (Scotland) Regulations 2014 • Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 • The Food (Scotland) Act 2015 6. Selection of Local Authorities 6.1 The following criteria will be considered when selecting LAs to ensure a representative sample is achieved: • A geographic spread throughout Scotland; • Time elapsed since previous audit; • Other intelligence, e.g. SFCIU input, Inward Missions, Scottish National Database reports, Service Plan (SP) reviews, recalls and alerts etc. 6.2 LAs selected for audit will be notified by means of a letter and will be given 10 working days’ notice to respond and provide the documentation requested. Notification will be addressed to the LA’s Chief Executive, Head of Service and Lead Food Officer responsible for the LA’s food law enforcement activity.
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FSS/ENF/25/002 5 7. Audit Outcome 7.1 All LAs audited will receive a PowerPoint presentation summarising the general discussion and feedback. An overall summary report will be produced on conclusion of the audit programme. 8. Publication of Audit report 8.1 Information on LA official control delivery performance is placed in the public domain. The summary audit report will be published on the FSS website at: Audit and monitoring | Food Standards Scotland
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Date: August – November 2025 Audit Assurance Division Title slide Local Authority Food Law Enforcement Actions Audit 2025 - 26 Presentation of Audit Findings – North Ayrshire Council
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2 Audit Aim • The aim of the audit programme is to assess and verify the arrangements in place at Local Authorities to ensure the adequate and effective delivery of Official Controls, specifically enforcement actions in LA enforced establishments. Audit Scope • The audit covered the organisation, planning, implementation and review of official controls carried out by North Ayrshire Council’s Environmental Health Service. Audit Process • The Audit primarily consisted of a documentation review and one online meeting held with the Audit Liaison Officer over the course of ten days. • The findings of the audit will be presented here and will also be compiled into an overall summary report at the end of the Audit Programme. Introduction
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3 Organisation & Management • The Authority has a 2025-26 Food Enforcement Service Plan in place. • The Plan outlines how food safety will be monitored and controlled within North Ayrshire. The Authority’s approach to interventions out-of-hours is included in the Plan. • The Authority has 1459 registered food premises, including 138 manufacturers and packers, and 9 Approved Establishments (AE). • On FHIS – there are 1350 premises on the platform and 94% have a Pass. • On SND, there are 120 premises showing as unrated, equating to 8.3% of the premises cohort. 189 premises are rated Group 3 Band A under FLRS (13% of the cohort). • 619 premises are programmed to be inspected in 2025-26 and in addition, some of the 306 inspections that were missed in 2024-25 will be included on the basis of risk. • A Food Premises Registration Procedure targets resources towards higher risk new premises whilst ensuring that all new business registrations are acknowledged and information links sent to aid food law compliance. By assigning an inspection date to all new business registrations, these can be tracked to ensure none are missed. Group 1 businesses are inspected within 30 days of receipt of their registration form. • 160 new business registration forms were received in 2024-25, and 150 in 2023-24, which is considered to represent an increasing workload.
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4 • The Authority provided an Enforcement Policy that was last reviewed and approved on 05 June 2024. • The Authority has a Scheme of Delegation that was approved on 18 September 2024. • Copies of photographic ID officer authorisations were submitted, all dated April 2024 with the exception of two new members of staff. • A range of formal enforcement procedures in the form of flow diagrams/decision trees are contained in the Appendices of the Enforcement Policy. Written protocols were also submitted for the service of notices and entering of inspection data. • An Employee Code of Conduct (dated 25/2/22) was provided, which sets out standards of conduct that all employees are expected to follow, including the need to declare any potential conflicts of interest. • The Food Safety Internal Monitoring Procedures require all correspondence of a formal nature, including any reports to the CoPFS via SRAweb to be checked by the Team Manager or Specialist EHO prior to issue. Similarly, any proposed re-categorisation of business groups require to be notified and agreed. • Officers can access documented protocols and procedures via an EH Resource Index, which also contains links to Food Standards Scotland's Food Law Guide and other guidance documents. Policies & Procedures
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5 • Programmed inspection caseload is allocated monthly or quarterly. Most interventions are carried out unannounced. Appointments are made where there are logistical or seasonal issues e.g. Arran or Cumbrae. • Food Law inspections and OCV cycles are programmed using the Food Enforcement Database (FED) without resorting to separate spreadsheets. • The database spreadsheet provided showed that 2005 interventions had been carried out since 1 October 2022, including 1270 planned inspections, 247 new business inspections and 155 revisits. The data held on SND for the same period indicates a total of 1851 interventions, including 1821 inspections and audits and 5 revisits, surveillance and other visits and 16 values not recognised. This indicates reasonable correlation, but further investigation of some enforcement code mappings is required to improve the accuracy of and to verify the data captured in SND. • Notice wording was clear and easy to understand, listed legislation contravened and works required to comply. Appropriate timescales were given and right of appeal to the relevant court was included. Where written application was received for an extended time-period, the existing notice was withdrawn and a new notice with extended timescale was issued. • Standard paragraphs are used to encourage efficient use of officer time as well as consistency. • Notices are served as soon as practicable after interventions. Notice templates are generated, and unique reference numbers are assigned using the notices database, which also serves as a register of all notices served. Revisits to check compliance are expected to be done within one working day after the expiry of the notice. Interventions
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6 • From the database spreadsheet review, most inspections were programmed, which is a positive sign of proactive enforcement. Inspection activity was highest in 2023, with a slight decline in 2024 and 2025. New business inspections followed a similar trend. Revisits are a significant part of the inspection regime, especially for food law compliance. • Based on the verification checks conducted by the audit team, the service of notices was proportionate based on the significance of the contraventions identified. The range of notices served included both HINs and RANs. • Appropriate and current Food Law Notice templates are being used because these must be generated from the FED. The Authority has considered issuing hand-written notices, but sufficient sub-offices are readily available, where officers can prepare Notices electronically. These are then printed, signed and served. • Improvements in inspection techniques and equipment are being considered to allow for more inspection time and reduce the number of outstanding inspections in future years. • It was hoped to modernise data capture during inspections using tablet devices and reduce time spent scanning and indexing inspection paperwork. The cost of implementing any such mobile solution has, so far, proved prohibitive. Enforcement Arrangements
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7 The Authority provided evidence and confirmed that 11 enforcement actions had been taken on 7 FBOs since 1 October 2022. On SND for the same period, there were 19 enforcements on 10 establishments. Enforcement activity taken since 1 October 2022 on SND does not accurately correlate with the data held on the Authority’s Food Enforcement Database. The Lead Food Officer is taking appropriate action to identify the cause of this problem and resolve the issue. Enforcement Actions Enforcement Action 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Total LA SND LA SND LA SND LA SND LA SND HIN 4 4 4 4 RAN 1 6 10 1 4 7 15 RAN withdrawn 5 1 6 Total 0 1 2 4 11 10 2 4 17 19
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8 Reasons cited and effectiveness of Enforcement Action Hygiene Improvement Notices – lack of hot water (2). Remedial Action Notices – lack of hot water (4), cleanliness and repair (1), HACCP (1), pest infestation (1). Overall, it appears that enforcement action was effective resulting in improvements in food law compliance.
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9 • The Authority employs qualified, trained and experienced officers. • Staffing – 6.6 FTE filled out of 6.6 establishment posts. • A required resource calculation, carried out in conjunction with FSS in January 2025 calculated that 8.09 FTE would be required to deliver the full range of food law related activities. • Food Safety Authorisation and Training Procedures require training records to be kept and there is a training programme which ensures all officers receive a minimum of 10 hours continuing personal development, in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice. • Consistency exercises are conducted where necessary, i.e. following policy changes, new legislation, etc. An FLRS scoring scenario exercise is in the process of being planned for newly recruited officers. • Newly qualified and returning officers receive in-house practical training in the form of accompanied visits to different business types and coaching in the database recording and post inspection administration requirements. • The Authority has a Performance and Personal Development procedure. Annual reviews of employee personal development are carried out, with areas for enhancement identified and discussed. • Communication – in addition to face to face, this takes place via team meetings, which are minuted, Teams meetings, email updates, and email correspondence following requests for advice and assistance from officers. Competence
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10 • The Authority uses its FED to schedule due dates for all its food premises. • Protocols exist outlining data entry for inspections and the steps to be taken by officers to record the service of notices. All actions associated with inspections are recorded in action diaries. The FED is used to create and populate notice templates automatically, including assignation of unique reference numbers. • There were no Enforcement Actions code errors (Value not recognised) on SND, which indicates no issues with enforcement mappings. • The Authority’s Enforcement Action data is not accurately represented on SND, however. Only 58% of enforcement actions in SND had been served. Data cleansing and verification is required to ensure that SND data accurately correlates with data held by the Authority. • The Authority's Approved Establishments – 8 are listed on the FSS website, 9 in FED and in the Service Plan and 11 are listed in SND. • Daily inputting following interventions is undertaken by the Inspecting Officers. • Administration support is undertaken by a Systems Administrator who maintains the database and highlights any anomalies. Consideration should be given to providing resilience where this task isn't being done for whatever reason. Food Enforcement Database
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11 • An annual sampling plan is prepared, targeting high risk products. • Information on products likely to fail microbiological and/or chemical standards is obtained from the Scottish Food Sampling Database and FSS Horizon reports and is used to inform the Sampling programme on an annual basis. • 111 samples were taken in 2022-23, 126 samples were taken in 2023-24 and 131 samples were taken in 2024-25. • There are approximately 280 private water supplies in North Ayrshire, and fifteen food businesses operate with a private water supply. • No enforcement action was required in the last 3 years in response to any unsatisfactory sample result. Sampling
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12 Internal Monitoring • Quality assessment is undertaken in accordance with the Food Safety Internal Monitoring procedure which ensures that food enforcement is undertaken in a consistent manner, in compliance with centrally issued guidance and internal policies and procedures. • All correspondence of a formal nature is checked by Team Manager or Specialist EHO – any issues, the inspecting officer is consulted, and inconsistencies are raised during team meetings or via email updates. • Validation Inspections - accompanied inspections are carried out periodically – any inconsistencies or deviations are notified to the officer and additional training provided where necessary. Evidence was provided that these are carried out and recorded in Action Diaries. • Internal monitoring procedures exist for Food Law Notices and any Reports to the COPFS via SRA web. • Officers are required to notify the Manager or Specialist EHO of any FLRS business group changes. • Policy Verification - files are peer reviewed using a verification checklist and recorded in the FED Action Diary. • Better procedures are required to ensure that data on SND is verified against the LA FED.
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13 Conclusions • The Authority provided an Enforcement Policy that was last reviewed and approved on 05 June 2024. Other policies and procedures in place are recently reviewed and effective. • Over 2000 interventions had been carried out, with eleven enforcement actions taken since 1 October 2022. Correlation between the data held on the FED and in SND was reasonable. Further investigation and resolution of some enforcement code mappings is required to verify that the data captured in SND accurately depicts data held in the FED e.g. enforcement actions, Approved Establishments and revisits. • Enforcement action taken was effective, proportionate and timely, resulting in improvements in standards. • For the files reviewed, Notice wording was clear and easy to understand, listed legislation contravened and works required to comply. Appropriate timescales were given and right of appeal to the relevant court was included. • A sampling plan is prepared each year, with sampling targeted at the highest risk establishments as well as FSS surveys. • More innovative working methods are being considered but implementation costs have been a barrier. • Formal correspondence is reviewed by senior staff, and checking is to be documented. Validation inspections and peer reviews were evidenced. • There is a potential need for improved SND data verification.
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14 North Ayrshire Council’s Comments & Feedback • North Ayrshire Council is aware of an issue with certain data not being removed from SND when a corresponding change is made on the Management Information System. For notices generated but not served, internal procedures have been amended to remove the notice code before the next SND submission. An annual exercise will be conducted to request manual deletion of any that appear in SND in error. This will include any approved premises no longer approved but still having this status in SND. • Investigations are underway with our Management Information System provider to improve the intervention data sent to SND as it appears that some interventions are not being categorised correctly (e.g. revisits). The issue with ‘value not recognised’ has been resolved and was due to new codes being added without being mapped on SND. • We are aware of discussions regarding improving the accuracy of data held in SND and the suggestion that FSS should request an annual accuracy check. We would support this, however, depending on the quality of data, it may be more manageable to undertake checks per data group or dashboard rather than the whole system. • Internal Monitoring procedures have been amended to ensure a ‘Manager Check’ code is recorded when discussions take place regarding correspondence, formal action or business group changes. • We wish to highlight the need for urgent amendment to the Food Law Rating Scheme (FLRS) following the recent review. Whilst we support the conflation of food hygiene and standards inspections and the higher frequency inspection categories for non-conforming businesses, we are of the view that certain compliant businesses are being inspected too frequently. In an era of reducing resources and an increasing inspection workload from new and non- compliant businesses, FLRS modification would be welcome to help address the inspection backlog.
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15 Next Steps • North Ayrshire Council is the third Authority to have been audited under the programme. • The programme will run until the end of financial year or until an adequate representation of Authorities has been achieved. • The findings from each audit, including your comments and feedback, will be published on FSS’ website and collated into an overall summary report which will be produced and published at the end of the programme. • The presentation once agreed, will be sent to your Chief Executive along with a covering letter. There is an expectation that the Local Authority will use the findings of the audit to help improve their performance. You may consider sharing the audit findings with elected members within the appropriate local public committee. • Any feedback you provide will also be incorporated into the summary report. The report will be made available on our website, and you will be notified once it has been published.