Burnley Borough Council
Wednesday 30 July 2003
23 October 2002
Burnley is a mainly urban area of East Lancashire surrounded by the Pennine Hills, countryside and moorland.
The Borough had a population of 91,000 in 2001. Burnley is the main town, however there are smaller urban developments at Padiham and in the surrounding villages. Unemployment is low in both national and regional terms, however most of the employment is lower paid. The economy is heavily dependent upon manufacturing and the service sector.
Food hygiene enforcement was carried out by officers of the Commercial Team within the Environmental Health and Cleansing Service.
In addition to food hygiene enforcement, the Commercial Team officers were also responsible for the delivery of other services including health and safety enforcement and the administration of some licensing functions.
The Commercial Team was responsible for enforcing food hygiene legislation in 1,116 premises, of which 158 (14%) were categorised as high risk (i.e. premises with either an A or B risk rating). The average percentage of high risk premises for a district council is 15%. Food businesses were predominantly within the catering (50%) and retail (45%) sectors, with 20 food manufacturers (2%).
Executive Summary
The authority was able to demonstrate effective arrangements for its sampling activities, with strong and well established liaison with neighbouring authorities and the Public Health Laboratory Service. The Authority participated fully in regional and national sampling surveys.
The authority was generally adhering to its sampling policy and programme, and appropriate follow up action was being taken in response to unsatisfactory sample results in accordance with the Authority's Enforcement Policy.
There was, however, an inconsistent approach to sampling at the authority's high risk premises. Dairies were routinely visited for the purpose of sampling, but other Approved Premises and high-risk food businesses were not subject to routine sampling by the local authority and were not included in the programme.
Related links
(pdf 93KB)