Footballers versus regulation

The politics of regulatory services are not likely to trouble the front pages of the newspapers, as long as there is a story about a premiership footballer’s amatory exploits. So most people outside the worlds of environmental health and trading standards will be unconcerned that a promised white paper on regulation failed to appear ‘after Easter’.

In May, something caused the white paper to be downgraded to a consultation. It was due to appear in early June. The fact that it did not will not disappoint news editors. But for those interested in the future of the primary authority scheme and of earned recognition, the delay is more than academic. Once the consultation is launched, the CIEH will seek views from its members before responding.

The CIEH believes high standards are best sustained by ensuring organisations accept the need for them; in other words, that they accept the concept rather than have it imposed externally although, in a minority of cases, this may be necessary.

It believes regulatory activity may develop so that it is defined less by a fixed number of inspections and more by a collaboration between regulators and those they regulate. This view is underlined by our feature on health and safety enforcement in Birmingham (see page 10). Far from pestering compliant, low-risk premises with needless visits, which resources do not permit, Birmingham EHOs use intelligence gathering to target the most problematic businesses, backed by workplace interventions including self-assessment questionnaires, spot-checks and, where necessary, formal enforcement.

The CIEH argues that those who can demonstrate regulatory compliance may be entitled to recognition in terms of risk assessment and regulatory oversight. However, essential to earned recognition would be safety assurance schemes audited by third parties. Also, earned recognition should not prejudice the ability of local authorities to use the law where necessary. These matters are of more than academic interest. Sometimes, as shown by the outbreak of E. coli in Germany (page 6), the effectiveness of regulation can be about life and death.

Tags: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Environmental Health News, General environmental health, Regulation