Environmental Health News October 2025

PINCH POINTS Joining the dots between supply and demand

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS

CIEH

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Editor Nic Paton

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Regulating shisha cafes

CONTENTS

Over 14 million people going hungry in the UK; CIEH presses to resource housing teams; tackling illegal meat imports, and more.

FEATURES

10 Cost of student hunger

Aimee McCloy wins the CIEH BSc Research Award for her dissertation on food poverty.

12 Mind the gap

Graduates are eager. Employers are under pressure. Can EH close the gap?

16

Pathways into

the profession

The realities of pursuing a career in EH at a time of uncertainty for councils and teams.

18 Up in smoke

Weak fines and patchy laws leave EH teams struggling with shisha cafe regulation.

21 A partnership that delivers

The pioneering collaboration between South Derbyshire District Council and Olio.

Saving surplus food

REGULARS

25 Legal briefing

Lessons on noise notices: the London Borough of Enfield versus Anthony Beckford.

26 Prosecutions

Lifetime ban for landlords operating illegal rent-to-rent scheme; motorsport organiser fined for carbon monoxide poisoning; Asda fined after out-of-date food items discovered.

34 Your letters

Views on safeguarding clean air, links with the IFEH, getting EH noticed and the EHN Jobs channel.

VIEW POINT BREAKING THE CYCLE

WHEN EH teams are struggling to fill vacancies, the fact that aspiring EHPs are encountering barriers to entering the profession, as we highlight in this edition, is a real concern.

What’s clear from our coverage is that the budgetary, workload and time pressures many are working under – especially local authority teams – are making it harder for the profession to plan for the future, engage with local colleges and universities and, critically, offer placements or shadowing.

This creates a vicious cycle. With councils often lacking capacity or resources, students are leaving courses with little real-life engagement or exposure to the profession. That makes it harder to get a valuable first foot in the door, so vacancies remain unfilled, further exacerbating pressures on officers.

What’s to be done? The first thing to point out here is that there is already a lot of positive work going on. Employers and universities, it is clear, are being proactive, whether this be through investing in apprenticeships or working with the private sector to offer placements. It is also nice to note that the Operation Jigsaw team is talking to CIEH about a range of issues that could help in advance of the Renters’ Rights Bill coming into force.

Another answer, as Basingstoke and Dean’s John Stowe has highlighted, is for more employers to engage with and use resources such as CIEH’s Directory of Student Opportunities.

More widely, UWE’s Ellis Turner is surely right in arguing that, long term, EH needs a clearer, more defined and articulated workforce strategy – one that sets out clear pathways into the profession. These issues aren’t going to go away quickly, but problem-solving is, of course, something that EHPs excel at. We need to tap into that skill-set to find ways forward.

Ian Andrews, CIEH head of environmental health

514

The estimated number of shisha bars in the UK, up from fewer than 200 a decade ago.

46%

Average income now spent on rent by private renters aged 16 to 24, according to the latest English Housing Survey (2022 to 2023).

WHO’S INSIDE

ELLIS TURNER

“I’d like to see CIEH, employers and universities get together to create a formalised pathway post-qualification”

PAGE 12

Passing the torch: workforce pressures make supporting new EHOs vital

RACHEL WALKOWIAK

“We have to strengthen the regulatory powers [around shisha bars] as the existing fines are pathetic.”

PAGE 18

HOT TOPICS

UPDATE UPDATE

More than 14 million people going hungry in the UK

Trussell Trust report suggests marked increase in hunger and poverty since 2022

As many as 14.1 million people – including 3.8 million children – faced hunger in the UK last year because they didn’t have enough money for food, according to research from the Trussell Trust.

The figures show an increase from 11.6 million people in 2022, when the last survey was carried out, the charity said, with this now equating to 16% of households compared with 14% in 2022.

Hunger in the UK, the Trussell Trust’s landmark study, was conducted in two parts. The first saw pollster Ipsos send questionnaires to 4,427 random adults, and the second survey contacted 3,866 adults who had been referred to food banks.

There were also interviews with people who had and hadn’t visited food banks, but were identified as facing ‘food insecurity’.

The findings showed that young children are being particularly

badly affected, with one in three (31%) children under five growing up in a food-insecure household, while more than a quarter (27%) of disabled people also experience food insecurity.

In addition, nearly a third (30%) of people referred to Trussell Trust food banks are in working households – up from 24% in 2022.

The charity’s report highlighted the failings of Universal Credit to protect people from going without essentials. More than half (52%) of people receiving Universal Credit had experienced hunger in the past year, and almost a quarter (23%) had to access a food bank or other charitable food provision.

On average, households referred to food banks are left with just £104 a week after housing costs to cover food, energy bills, travel, toiletries and other essentials. This is only 17% of what the average UK

‘ONE IN THREE CHILDREN UNDER FIVE IS GROWING UP IN A FOODINSECURE HOUSEHOLD’

CIEH set to bring the profession together in Cardiff

The chief medical officer for

The CIEH Wales Conference ‘Embracing Change,

Empowering Environmental Health’ will discuss everything from climate challenges to the impact of AI. The two-day conference is being held from 21-22 October at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff. Topics set to be discussed will include an update on the

Health Impact Assessment (Wales) regulations, the post-Covid health protection system, challenges and opportunities around housing and health, and how to ensure safety and integrity in imported foods.

The number of people using food banks has surged in recent years

household has left after paying their rent or mortgage.

The report identified the government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy as a “golden opportunity” to reduce the number of children facing hunger and living in severe hardship. It stated: “There are sensible funding proposals and routes to maintain fiscal credibility while still delivering ambitious changes to turn the tide on hunger, including much-needed updates to our social security system.”

The trust’s report called on the government to scrap the two-child benefits limit, introduce a minimum floor in Universal Credit to provide people with more security and certainty about how much they will receive each month, and to uprate Local Housing Allowance in line with the cheapest 30% of local rents.

CIEH president Mark Elliott will chair the two days, and said: “The theme could not be more relevant. With change comes opportunity – to strengthen our profession, protect communities, and ensure EH is at the heart of a safer, fairer, healthier Wales.”

Wales, Professor Isabel Oliver, and Katie Pettifer, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency, will be among keynote speakers at CIEH‘s conference in Wales.

CIEH presses case to resource housing teams

From Awaab’s Law to the blight of empty homes, CIEH has been making the case for better resourcing of environmental health housing teams

With the Renters’ Rights Bill expected to progress through its final stages in Parliament later this month, CIEH has been pressing hard to ensure the voice of environmental health continues to be heard on housing issues.

Last month, for example, Dr Henry Dawson, senior lecturer in housing and public health at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and a member of CIEH’s Housing Advisory Panel, gave oral evidence to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into housing conditions in England.

Vulnerable residents living in the poorest-quality homes are least likely to be able to use tools such as Awaab’s Law to challenge their landlords to improve the quality of where they live, Dr Dawson highlighted.

The legislation, introduced following the death of two-yearold Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould, requires social housing landlords to investigate and fix dangerous damp and mould within a set period of time.

calling for a consolidation of existing housing standards.

Following his evidence to MPs, Dr Dawson also spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Today in Parliament programme, where he pressed the point that Awaab’s Law requires tenants to take direct legal action against the landlords.

He stated this was “quite a tall ask, particularly for what’s likely to be the most vulnerable tenants in the poorest-quality housing that we’re seeing in society”.

Over the summer, CIEH also called for extra resources to help EH teams deal with the ‘blight’ of empty homes, following a BBC investigation highlighting an increase in their prevalence and the effect this is having on neighbourhoods.

In its investigation, the BBC spoke to people in an area of Bristol about the impact of empty houses in their community, with residents highlighting how such housing fuels antisocial behaviour, drug-dealing, fly-tipping, vermin and dereliction.

‘VULNERABLE RESIDENTS LIVING IN THE POOREST HOMES ARE LEAST LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO USE TOOLS SUCH AS AWAAB’S LAW’

Dr Dawson, in his evidence, also highlighted the vital role of local authorities in improving housing conditions, given the variation in housing stock around the country, but pointed to reductions in their funding and in the number of environmental health practitioners.

He expressed concern about the introduction of yet more housing legislation into an environment that is already very confusing for landlords and tenants,

In response, CIEH member and head of public safety and regulation at Newcastle City Council Ed Foster emphasised that EH teams have emergency powers to board-up empty properties, deal with leaking gutters, dampness and poor roofing, as well as powers to deal with rat and pest infestations, and anti-social behaviour interventions.

“Empty homes are a challenge to local authorities in dealing with the impact on neighbourhoods and communities, with issues such as overgrown gardens, pests and anti-social behaviour often linked to these premises. Sometimes the empty properties can cause dampness and disrepair to neighbouring homes,” he said.

HOME TRUTHS

4%

Percentage of renters within the private rented sector who had experienced homelessness (around 193,000 households), according to the government’s latest English Housing Survey (2022-23).

9%

Renters who had been refused a tenancy in the last 12 months because they were in receipt of housing support (around 99,000 households).

6%

Private renters with dependent children who reported that they had been refused a tenancy in the last 12 months because of children in the home.

46%

Average income spent on rent by private renters aged 16-24 when housing support was included.

26%

The average income spent on rent by private renters in full-time work.

Illegal meat imports pose a growing risk to UK biosecurity

CIEH to join taskforce tackling illegal meat imports

CIEH ‘ready and willing’ to join taskforce and welcomes coordinated approach to illegal imports

CIEH HAS welcomed a report from MPs highlighting how illegal meat imports are creating a serious risk to the UK’s biosecurity and food safety.

The report, Biosecurity at the Border: Britain’s Illegal Meat Crisis, has been published by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (Efra), and has concluded that “alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported to Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale”.

In response, CIEH has agreed with the MPs that there is currently no mechanism for local and port health authorities to share information with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) or to receive intelligence from it.

This, warned CIEH, created “a notable gap in the control system for personal imports”.

The Efra report has recommended that a taskforce for illegal imports be established by November, led by the minister for biosecurity, currently Baroness Hayman. CIEH has said it is “ready and willing” to join this new body.

NEWS IN BRIEF

NEW REGULATIONS TO TACKLE DANGEROUS COSMETIC PROCEDURES

Tony Baldock, chair of the Association of Port Health Authorities (APHA) and a member of CIEH’s Port Health Advisory Panel, said: “Illegal meat imports pose a serious threat, not only to public health but also to biosecurity and the integrity of our food systems.”

He welcomed the recommendation by the Efra Committee for a more coordinated strategy, which he agreed was “urgently needed”.

Baldock added: “We would welcome the opportunity to be part of the proposed taskforce and are committed to working collaboratively as part of this process. However, we also need action now to help tackle the workforce issues which continue to provide significant challenges with the lack of appropriately trained professionals in the pipeline able to carry out this work, both at our borders and also in delivering food safety inspections in our communities.

“Sustained and predictable funding is needed, and we will continue to push the government to give environmental health professionals the attention and resources they desperately need and ultimately make our communities healthier and safer,” he said.

The government has said it intends to introduce measures to crack down on ‘cowboy’ cosmetic procedures that have left people maimed and injured, in a move that has been welcomed by CIEH. Under the proposed regulations, which will be subject to public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, only qualified healthcare professionals will be able to perform the highest-risk procedures – such as non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts.

EMISSION-BASED PARKING FEES GAINING TRACTION

Reading Borough Council has become the latest local authority to consider introducing emissions-based parking, whereby vehicles emitting over 151g/km (grams per kilometre) of CO2 are potentially subject to extra charges. The council is consulting on a plan to introduce this new model and, should it get the green light, will follow the lead set by councils such as Bath &

North East Somerset Council and the London Borough of Newham. Under the plan, incremental tariffs of 20% for petrol and 25% for diesel vehicles will apply to each parking pricing band, based on a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions.

TAKEAWAY CALORIE LABELS INEFFECTIVE

More than three-quarters of adults (77%) admit to not taking any notice of calorie information during a recent takeaway purchase, according to a study by The London School of Hygiene &

Tropical Medicine. The poll of 1,040 adults also found that, of those who did notice, 71% said it didn’t make a difference to their food choice.

Dr Cherry Law, food economist at the University of Reading and co-author of the study, said this highlighted the need to have “strategies that reflect what people care about when eating out, as calorie information alone is not enough”.

STREAMLINECOMPLIANCE. ELEVATESTANDARDS.ENHANCE EFFICIENCY. META STREET

THE COST OF STUDENT HUNGER

Aimee McCloy won the CIEH BSc Research Award for her dissertation on food poverty

WORDS

BY PENNIE TAYLOR

It was volunteering with children in a Kenyan school that opened Aimee McCloy’s eyes to the reality of poverty. “It was shocking to me, witnessing the effects on these kids who had nothing,” she tells EHN. “I will never forget the things I saw there.”

Aimee was inspired by her volunteer work at a school in Kenya

NEED TO KNOW

That was a year ago, and when Aimee returned to Liverpool John Moores University to finish her environmental health degree, she decided to focus her final dissertation on exploring the impact of food poverty among UK students.

“During my time at university, the cost-of-living crisis had made everything so much more expensive, and I wondered about the experience of students, whose grants and loans stay the same,” she says.

“When I started the research, I didn’t know if I would find much evidence of hardship, so it was scary to discover just how bad things are.”

As well as helping to gain her degree, Aimee’s dissertation, ‘Exploring the Prevalence and Impact of Food Poverty Among University Students in the UK Through Quantitative Survey Analysis’, was submitted for the first-ever CIEH BSc Research Award, which she has won.

“I was shocked and delighted to hear the news,” Aimee says. “It makes all the hard work worth it.”

CIEH has run a postgraduate MSc Research Award since 2023 – won last year by University of the West of England student Rufus Redsell (EHN, February 2025). In response to demand, this year the award has been extended to also celebrate outstanding BSc undergraduate research.

“There were many high-quality entries, but Aimee’s work raises the wider implications of what

‘I didn’t know if I would find much evidence of hardship, so it was scary to discover just how bad things are’

AIMEE MCCLOY

we do, which will spark discussion,” says awards sponsor and former CIEH president Dr Tim Everett, who sits on the three-member judging panel and provides £1,000 prizes to both winners.

“As a profession, we have done marvellous things, but we have not always written them up. These awards aim to encourage colleagues to get into the publication mindset, to share good work and avoid reinventing wheels,” he adds.

Having found a gap in the research literature about students’ experience of austerity, Aimee’s study surveyed UK university students online. Analysis of 121 responses showed that 24% of participants were ‘always’ worried about being unable to afford food, and that 16.8% had visited a foodbank in the past 12 months. A quarter (24%) felt their academic performance had been hindered by food poverty, and 23% believed they had underperformed because of this.

The paper concluded that student loans needed to rise in line with living costs, that emergency grants should be more easily accessible, and that there should be awareness-raising within universities to reduce stigma and signpost students to sources of help, as well as subsidised meal programmes.

HIGHLY COMMENDED PAPER

As with the MSc award, Aimee’s research will be published on the CIEH website, alongside a highly commended paper by Lewis James of the University of Wolverhampton on ‘Evaluating Barbershop Hygiene Practices in Telford and Wrekin: Implications for Public Health’.

“The winning paper raises big issues that demand a high-level response,” says Dr Everett. “The highly commended paper is about something simple and cheap, and I am sure there will be colleagues who say, ‘We could do that too.’”

After graduating with first-class honours, 21-year-old Aimee is now taking a gap year before returning to her home city, Belfast, where she plans to start working as an EHO as well as continue to explore her interest in food poverty and inequality.

The winner of the inaugural CIEH BSc Research Award is Liverpool John Moores University’s Aimee McCloy for her dissertation on the impact of food poverty on UK students.

CIEH has run a postgraduate MSc Research Award since 2023, and this new award celebrates outstanding undergraduate research.

The winning research papers can be accessed at bit.ly/47BVuBq

The closing date for this year’s MSc Research Award is 31 October 2025.

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Graduates are eager. Employers are struggling. Can environmental health bridge the divide?

WORDS

BY NIC PATON

MINDTHEGAP

WHEN YOU LISTEN TO Kizito Ifeka, you wouldn’t guess that environmental health has been suffering from a chronic and deepening skills and workforce crisis for the past 10-20 years.

“I’ve applied to no fewer than 500 jobs,” says Ifeka, who completed a master’s in environmental health at the University of the West of England (UWE) last year, and tells his story from page 16.

“It can be demoralising. You spend hours writing each application, and then within seconds, you receive a ‘Unfortunately, we can’t take your application forward’ response. It’s always that they’re looking for someone who already has experience,” he adds.

The reality of environmental health’s workforce crisis is well-recognised. Earlier this year, CIEH’s most recent member survey highlighted that more than two-thirds (68%) of members feel overworked, with recruitment and retention, workload and capacity, resources (or lack of) and the ‘lack of experienced/qualified/trained staff’ all factors.

This broadly echoed CIEH’s last workforce-specific survey, carried out back in 2021. It identified that more than half (56%) of local authorities had EH vacancies that had been unfilled for six months or more, with a lack of suitably qualified or experienced replacements the key blockage.

SITUATIONS VACANT

On food specifically, last year the Food Standards Agency reported that one in seven food safety positions is currently vacant in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while 25% remain unfilled in Scotland.

Yet, despite this, Ellis Turner, Ifeka’s module leader and senior lecturer in environmental health at UWE, highlights that as many as 60% to 70% of his master’s

students report finding it a battle to land a job post-graduation.

“If you’re on an apprenticeship or do the BSc or MSc degree and have a relationship with an environmental health team, you are 95-99% likely to get a job afterwards because you’ve got that lived experience and working knowledge of legislation. You’re likely to be able to go to a job and demonstrate that you’re employable,” he tells EHN

“But if you’ve done a master’s or BSc where you have not had a single day of experience, which some of our graduates do – they leave university without practical experience – they are the ones who are struggling.

“Part of the problem we’re seeing is employers – and we do understand why – not having the capacity or time to take on someone with no experience and train them up,” Turner adds.

“You must invest in the future,” strongly agrees Lindsay Shaw, senior lecturer and programme director in environmental health at Ulster University. “Most local authorities in Northern Ireland have an environmental health placement student each year, and it is a model I think should be reconsidered in England. Some are even more proactive, providing sixth formers with a few days of invaluable work experience and carrying out talks in schools.

“Yet, because we now have only 11 councils and 40+ students, increasingly we have found the private sector has stepped in. They are now taking more people on placement than our local authorities,” she points out.

“I had a job out recently, and received 20+ applicants, which was good,” says Nick Chapman, head of private housing and environmental health standards at Royal Borough of Greenwich. “Of the six we invited to interview, only two then turned up. Others either pulled out the day before or just didn’t show up, which was disappointing. Of those two, however, both were final-year students doing their MSc in EH, so, in theory, brilliant candidates.”

Yet Greenwich, like most local authorities, has a scoring system where candidates have to achieve above a certain mark, including on two mandatory, HR-set questions on corporate behaviours and equality and diversity. “They both had a very good theoretical knowledge, but neither was able to relate this back to the practical aspects of the role. They were

T0 KNOW

Despite environmental health’s chronic workforce shortages, some EH students are still reporting struggling to land roles after qualifying.

A lack of placements and work experience is often the root cause, with many council teams now too stretched to offer mentoring, shadowing or placement support.

The requirement to have a driving licence can also be a factor, especially in rural areas, with cost and long waits for driving tests compounding the problem.

The profession is being urged to come together to develop a national workforce strategy that maps out staged pathways and support for those keen to enter the profession. NEED

both completely unprepared for the final two HR questions, which are of a type asked by many councils. Immediately, I was in a position where I could not recruit them, even though they were both potentially good future EHOs,” says Chapman.

WORK-READY EMPLOYEES

The need to create a more ‘work-ready’ EHP who does not require as much post-qualification mentoring and support is one reason why a growing number of local authorities are investing in EH

‘WE’RE SEEING EMPLOYERS NOT HAVING THE CAPACITY OR TIME TO TAKE ON SOMEONE WITH NO EXPERIENCE’

ELLIS TURNER, UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND

apprentices. East Suffolk Council, for example, has four due to graduate into the organisation this year and a further three set to start from January, through the new EH BSc apprenticeship at the University of Suffolk, points out head of environmental services and port health, Fiona Quinn.

“The adjustment from study to work can be quite a big transition. Dealing with the people, problem solving, the politics of the role, understanding that nothing is black and white and there are always shades of grey in things – all of which are very important in local government. It can take time to bed those skills in, which is when mentoring needs to come through,” she says, adding that local government reorganisation may yet create a further level of uncertainty and caution around investing in future talent pipelines.

As in the public sector, more private sector firms, too, have in recent years been recognising the value of using apprenticeship levy money to bring on and embed EH apprentices, highlights Phil Clarke, head of health and safety at care homes provider Care UK. But private employers could certainly still be doing more to invest in and develop future pipelines of practitioners, he agrees.

One barrier is they need to have a clear line of sight that they have both the current and, crucially, future business in place to justify the investment. Even in large private sector organisations, EH teams will normally be quite small and lean, which can hamper capacity or ability to mentor new starters or offer placements.

“Private sector firms do, however, also need a pipeline of talent. They need to be looking at succession planning, which is something I’m always conscious of. So, it is about trying to find creative ways of giving people that experience, especially if they are trying to develop their professional portfolio,” he says.

“Certainly, if anyone with an EH degree applied for one of our vacancies, I would try to facilitate enabling them to complete their portfolio so they could develop within the profession. Moreover, I think a good EH professional can work in any industry; I don’t think it’s a barrier if you haven’t worked in that industry before,” Clarke adds.

Placements, work experience, shadowing, exposure to EH teams working ‘in the field’ are all key to getting that first foot in the door for new starters to the profession, agrees Mark Dolman, regional lead for Operation Jigsaw, Yorkshire and Humber.

He points to an experience close to home to illustrate the point. “My son recently completed his environmental health degree at Leeds Beckett University. When he was looking for a job, a vacancy cropped up in a council’s food team. He applied but wasn’t successful. Subsequent feedback advised it was due to his lack of practical work experience, because he’d done a pure degree rather than an apprenticeship,” he tells EHN

“It does feel as though some local authorities need help to understand this and adapt; otherwise they risk losing young and enthusiastic recruits to other sectors,” he adds.

To try to do its bit, Jigsaw, the government-funded network – which is now supporting local authority housing teams with implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill – has workforce development as one of its key work streams. In particular, it is working with UWE to help ‘demystify’ work experience for local authorities by creating a practical guide to offering student placements.

“As a manager with all the competing demands on your time, when you get somebody saying, ‘We’d really like to come and do some work experience with you,’

EH students need real-world experience to step into available roles

your thinking can be, ‘That sounds like a big commitment,’” points out Dolman.

“But, actually, it’s not about someone coming for three months or six weeks. It could be something far simpler and easier to provide, just a day or two here or there, purely observational, for them to experience what it’s like and be able to relate what they have learned on their course to the real world, particularly at interview,” he says.

‘THE ADJUSTMENT FROM STUDY TO WORK CAN BE QUITE A BIG TRANSITION’

FIONA QUINN, EAST SUFFOLK COUNCIL

The requirement that new officers have a full driving licence can be a further barrier, with the cost of lessons, of running a car, and lengthy waits for a driving test – as long as 22 weeks in some parts of the country – all compounding the problem. Yet, as Dolman highlights: “At the moment it is an essential criterion in most EH job adverts. So, if you haven’t got a licence, you’re probably not even going to get an interview.”

LACK OF ENGAGEMENT

For John Stowe, environmental health officer (housing standards) at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, one frustration is the apparent lack of engagement from councils with potentially invaluable workforce tools such as CIEH’s Directory of Student Opportunities (bit.ly/4pEhCBE).

Within housing, for example, he highlights that, when he last looked, barely 10 local authority opportunities were listed. “If fewer than 10 are offering opportunities across the whole of England, we’re never going to make progress,” he says.

“I take on a student a month, and have been doing so for around three years. All are so grateful to be given the opportunity. I’ve had people come all the way from Leeds because they just cannot get anyone local.

“If we could have, say, 50 local authorities across England saying, ‘You’ve got your degree, come and have a look at us and get your reports done,’ surely that can only be a good thing?” he adds.

For UWE’s Turner, the solution needs to be a collective effort by the profession, with universities, councils, the private sector, CIEH and government all playing their part.

“This has been talked about for at least the last decade, but the key, for me, is an absence of an EH workforce strategy,” he tells EHN

“For many professions – police, nurses, doctors, dentists, teachers and so on – there are very formal pathways you follow and will progress along, including with access to mentors and, significantly, a work experience placement. Yet, if you want to be an environmental health practitioner, you’re on your own unless you already have that employer relationship. There is a lack of infrastructure.

“I’d like to see CIEH, employers (public and private), and universities get together and formalise some sort of placement scheme, a formalised pathway post-qualification. But it needs to be a three-way partnership,” he adds.

CI CYNHADLEDD CYMRU CIEH WALESCONFERENCE

Cofleidio newid, grymusoiechydyr amgylchedd

Ymunwch a.ni yng Nghaerdydd wrth i ni archwilio atebion strategol i heriau iechyd yng Nghymru heddiw. Ymhlith y prif siaradwyr bydd yr Athro Isabel Oliver, Prif Swyddog Meddygol Cymru.

Datgloi mynediad llawn i'r digwyddiad gydag un tocyn: sesiynau sy'n ysgogi'r meddwl, arddangosfa bwrpasol, llety, brecwast, cinio, swper, derbyniad diodydd a noson gymdeithasol!

Uchafbwyntiau'r rhaglen

• System diogelu iechyd y dyfodol

• Gwella iechyd trwy atebion tai

• Cadw diogelwch ac uniondeb ein bwyd

Embracingchange, empowering environmental health

Join us in Cardiff as we explore strategic solutions to health challenges in Wales today. Keynote speakers include Professor Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer for Wales.

Unlock full event access in one ticket: thought-provoking sessions,tailored exhibition, accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks reception and social evening!

Programme highlights

• The future health protection system

• Improving health through housing solutions

• Retaining the safety and integrity of our food

PATHWAYS INTO THE PROFESSION

Newcomers share the realities of pursuing a career in EH at a time of uncertainty for councils and teams

WORDS BY NIC PATON

WHEN KIZITO IFEKA

came from Nigeria to UWE in Bristol to do his master’s in EH, it was not the first time he’d embraced postgraduate study.

“I previously did a master’s in psychology in Rome and one in philosophy in Nigeria, so I now have three,” he laughs.

Yet, after graduating last summer, the former health and safety manager is working as a support worker with a charitable housing organisation. It is a satisfying enough role in itself, but definitely not what he wants to be doing.

‘THE PROFESSION’S LIKE A CLOSED SHOP. IF YOU HAVEN’T GOT THE EXPERIENCE, YOU CAN’T GET THE EXPERIENCE’

KIZITO IFEKA

“Environmental health is what I really love; I am passionate about it, I am passionate about giving my best in terms of public protection, public health, and health and safety, but also in terms of promoting wellbeing in all aspects of our lives, especially in food,” he tells EHN

“I accept all councils will have many applications for these roles, but it is demoralising not to get any feedback. When they’re not even inviting you for an interview to express yourself, I don’t have an opportunity to explain what I can offer,” he says of his more than 500 – so far unsuccessful – job applications.

“If there was a programme mapped out to encourage new professionals into the field,

that would be helpful – a programme that perhaps offered shadowing experience for six months at specific councils that could then lead to a job.

“I am a student member of CIEH, which is great. However, for me, the environmental health profession now feels like a closed shop, almost a secret society. If you are not part of it, you can’t get into it. If you haven’t got the experience, you can’t get the experience. I feel I’m being told all the time that I’m not fit to enter the profession, yet there is all this talk about shortages,” Ifeka adds.

Lizzie Phillips started the fourth and final year of an apprenticeship at South Tyneside Council this autumn.

She has nothing but praise for both the course and the support she has received from the council and her co-workers. Yet she feels the general uncertainty – not least with looming local government devolution – is making things increasingly difficult for those keen to enter the profession. The tough financial environment also constrains teams across local government from planning and resourcing ahead.

“The environmental health team and manager have been really supportive in terms of moving me around the different discipline areas, so I’ve been able to gain experience across the board. I’m currently with the private sector housing team and really enjoying the challenge it’s given me,” she tells EHN

“Once I graduate, we will see what happens, which is the key point here. When I was put forward for my apprenticeship, the environmental health manager said there was no guarantee of a job at the end of it, which I totally understood. I thought, ‘Fine, I just want to get on with it.’

“I had been in EH in different guises for quite a long time, 17 years – mostly in admin

NEED T0 KNOW

There is a desire among graduates and apprentices for a more formalised system through which students can gain work or shadowing experience.

More clarity on what will happen post-qualification would also be valuable, albeit recognising that financial constraints do often make this a challenge for councils.

Being able to experience opportunities across different councils, to see the different approaches different teams take, would also be of value.

roles – so I have a lot of experience, but this was a chance to get the necessary qualification and turn it into a proper career. But it would be helpful if there was clarity on what different options are available for me at the end of my degree.

HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

“I have two children, and doing this apprenticeship has had a real impact on my home life. I don’t have weekends or week nights when I’m studying. But I understand it was my choice to take it on. Hopefully, I will qualify next year and there will be a job here. But if an EHO role comes up in a neighbouring authority and there isn’t one here, I’ll have to go for it,” she adds.

Shaquana McLennon and Habsa Osman are both apprentice EHPs at Haringey Council. They have two years to go until they complete their four-year programme.

For them, so far, the experience has been positive and, because the training is so hands-on and practical, both are optimistic that they will find a home within the profession once they graduate.

“I’m grateful we are getting an opportunity to rotate around different areas of the council, giving us a flavour of what things are like and getting to know the colleagues in different departments. I feel we do have a foot in the door, potentially,” says McLennon.

“For example, now we are starting our third year, Haringey is encouraging us to create a work plan so we can decide what area we want to specialise in – what areas we have been enjoying most throughout the course. They’ll then work to ensure we get to spend more time in those areas, getting out with officers and things like that. Hopefully, it will enable us to stay on once we have finished,” she adds.

“Because we’re getting that on-the-job experience, when we do graduate, we’ll be more confident; we’ll know more about what the job is about. Whereas otherwise employers might say you don’t have the experience,” agrees Osman.

“I’m hopeful we will be prioritised in getting a job at the end of the course with Haringey, as we would have gained four years of experience,” she adds.

Yet both also recognise that, with the wider pressures all local authorities are facing, there are no certainties at the end of the day. “Resources are limited, and things are quite difficult. But from our own experience, I do think Haringey is doing its best to help us,” says McLennon.

“I’m considering going into health and safety, although there isn’t a specific health and safety team at Haringey, which does make it difficult to get experience.

“What might be good, therefore, is if councils had links with other council teams so they could perhaps ‘share’ apprentices. Having that opportunity to mix, blend and pop over to other councils, I feel that would be of benefit,” McLennon adds.

514

Estimated number of UK shisha bars in 2022, up from 187 in 2012, according to an FOI survey of councils by vape retailer Vape Club.

210%

Estimated increase in shisha use since the 2006 smoking ban, according to Action on Smoking and Health.

100

Number of cigarettes a one-hour shisha session can be equivalent to, according to the World Health Organization.

40%

The percentage of secondaryschool-aged children who admit to having smoked shisha. This is more than twice the number who have tried cigarettes (19%).

£2,500

Maximum fine for businesses failing to prevent illegal smoking under the 2006 Health Act, although this is often much reduced for first offenders.

UP IN SMOKE

Shisha bars are booming across the UK, but weak fines and patchy laws leave EH teams struggling to enforce the rules

WORDS BY PENNIE TAYLOR

IT HAS BEEN A TRADITIONAL pastime in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia for centuries. But in bars across the UK, shisha smoking now has a modern-day chic, too.

In fact, it is estimated that the number of shisha bars has rocketed in recent years, up to more than 500 from fewer than 200 a decade ago. Their popularity has taken off in particular since smoking in public places was banned under the 2006 Health Act.

Shisha uses specially prepared sweetened tobacco, commonly mixed with sugar, molasses or fruit flavours, which is burned with charcoal in a small bowl attached to a pipe. The smoke is drawn through water to be cooled before being inhaled via a long tube.

Contrary to popular belief, the water filtering does not remove harmful toxins, and, just like conventional smokers, shisha users face considerable health risks, including cancer and heart disease.

According to the World Health Organization, the smoke exposure from a typical one-hour shisha session can be

equivalent to smoking as many as 100 cigarettes.

Moreover, because venues are often alcohol-free and unlicensed, they can pop up in a variety of settings, making it difficult to monitor compliance with the 2006 legislation, which demands that smoking areas are not enclosed.

All of which poses a bit of a headache in the context of EH regulation and enforcement, as Paul Bowen, EHO at Salford City Council, points out. “It’s a game of cat and mouse. In my experience, these are essentially non-compliant operations that are very difficult to control,” he tells EHN.

At the moment, there are five shisha premises in central Salford, he estimates, all causing his team concern. This is not least because, under the Health Act 2006, the maximum fine for a business failing to prevent illegal smoking is £2,500, with first offenders often paying a fraction of that.

“The fines are an absolute pittance, and I’ve had operators laugh out loud when I’ve served a notice. They just pay the fines and keep on trading,” Bowen says.

Shisha smoking is often seen as a social activity, but carries serious health risks

The EH team at Ealing Council in west London is facing similar frustrations, points out Rachel Walkowiak, workplace and public safety team leader. “Laws do exist, but there is a six-month timeframe to get cases to court, and a lot of local authorities can’t respond that fast. The Health Act urgently needs to be revisited in this regard,” she says.

Pre-Covid, around 30 shisha premises operated in the borough. This peaked during the pandemic but reduced back to 30, thanks to a collaborative public agency approach. Every quarter, meetings about the safety of shisha bars are held involving Walkowiak’s team, representatives from alcohol licensing, noise control, safer communities and planning, to share intelligence and consider action.

“The sole purpose of visiting a shisha bar is to smoke, and it is our duty to ensure customers and staff who are exposed to second-hand smoke are protected,” emphasises Gurdeep Dosanjh, team manager of the Food and Public Safety Team at Leicester City Council.

“The law states that places where smoking happens must be at least 50%

‘WHAT WE NEED ARE SPECIFIC SHISHA LICENCES THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO CLOSE PREMISES THAT REFUSE TO COMPLY’

open to the elements at all times – that’s easy enough in Dubai, but it’s different in Leicester in winter,” he adds.

Pre-Covid, Dosanjh’s eight-member team was able to monitor the city’s small number of shisha venues relatively easily, making unannounced visits to check compliance. Now, however, there are 16, despite the team having been halved in size.

MULTI-AGENCY APPROACH

NEED TO KNOW

There has been an explosion in the number of shisha bars across the UK since smoking in public places was banned under the 2006 Health Act.

Often alcohol-free and unlicensed, they can be difficult for hard-pressed EH teams to monitor and regulate, with the low fines for illegal smoking often little deterrence.

There have been calls for a licensing scheme, and new powers will be introduced under the proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill. But EH teams generally would like to see tougher penalties put in place.

Nevertheless, as in Ealing, a collaborative, multi-agency approach has paid dividends. For example, in 2019, the Dosanjh team joined forces with trading standards, HMRC, building control, fire and food safety officers to carry out ‘Operation Falcon’. The city-wide inspection found widespread non-compliance and led to several prosecutions.

“That changed things for a short time, but we continue to experience issues with shisha premises,” says Gurdeep. “What we need are specific shisha licences that would allow us to close premises that refuse to comply and stop them trading.”

“Non-smoking fines are so small they are not much of a deterrent to a business that makes much more than that in a day,” agrees Graham Souster, health and safety team manager with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

He estimates there are some eight shisha premises on his ‘patch’ and points to the value of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. This allows a prohibition notice to be served for the burning of the charcoal that is used to light the shisha tobacco and also emits poisonous carbon monoxide.

“Using the Health and Safety Act and the smoke-free legislation, we can take a two-pronged approach to enforcement. But it is prohibition notices that have proved the best deterrent,” he explains.

What, then, about the idea of establishing a licensing regime, as suggested by Dosanjh? “There is blatant non-compliance with existing requirements, so I’m not convinced

licensing would make much difference to underground operators,” cautions Souster.

“The administration would be considerable, and it would pose an extra burden on both business and local authorities. In my experience, it is the threat of hefty fines that works,” he adds.

What, too, about the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently undergoing scrutiny in the House of Lords?

This will include powers to extend existing smoke-free regulations, which could potentially be used to close some of the loopholes shisha bars currently exploit. Bowen, for one, is sceptical about this. “That legislation is primarily aimed at preventing young people from taking up smoking, and shisha is about much more than that,” he says, adding that, in his opinion, the challenges that illegal shisha operations pose are of such significance that they deserve standalone legislation.

In the meantime, however, and in the absence of specific laws, Bowen, like Walkowiak, argues that the current six-month limit on bringing a prosecution should be lengthened, as this would allow more cases to make it to court, and for higher penalties to be imposed.

“When it comes to fines, anything short of £20,000 is wasting time. The risk of prosecution has to outweigh the operator profit. Right now, the message to operators is ‘Keep going, we can’t stop you,’” he adds in conclusion.

Below left to right: Paul Bowen, Salford City Council; Rachel Walkowiak, Ealing Council; and Graham Souster, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

A pioneering collaboration between South Derbyshire District Council and Olio has helped safely rescue millions of meals and earned national recognition

WORDS BY DAVID BLACKMAN

A PARTNERSHIP THAT DELIVERS

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

professionals, especially those in local government, often have a reputation for getting on with the job quietly, professionally and without fanfare.

This is all the more reason why outside-the-box EH thinking and innovation deserves to be celebrated – particularly when it involves creative public/private collaboration.

A partnership between South Derbyshire District Council’s environmental health team and a tech company is one example of such innovation. In fact, the ‘Share More, Waste Less’ partnership is laying the foundations for a multinational business that could potentially save millions of meals from being wasted every year.

The story begins in the mid-2010s, when supermarket chain Sainsbury’s chose its

store in the town of Swadlincote as the epicentre of a campaign to cut its food waste. The store, coincidentally, is located just across the road from South Derbyshire’s Civic Offices.

The retailer invited the recycling app Olio to join its campaign. The app works by signing people up to cut waste by sharing unwanted or unused items locally – clothes, toys, toiletries, household goods and, crucially, surplus food – with neighbours or work colleagues, for example.

Saasha Celestial-One, Olio’s co-founder and chief operating officer, recalls that back then, the app only had around 50,000 people signed up, but with Sainsbury’s encouragement, began working to sign up volunteers in the county.

One such volunteer was South Derbyshire’s principal environmental service EHO Lisa Brooks, who quickly

spotted the potential for Olio to expand its activities to food businesses, such as supermarkets, workplaces and cafes.

“We were very keen to do something on a bigger scale,” says Joanna Betts, who took over from Brooks after the latter moved to the Food Standards Agency.

‘Bigger scale’ in this context involved Olio’s volunteers rescuing surplus food from businesses across South Derbyshire and then redistributing it from their homes. However, expanding the model in this way also meant navigating the complex web of environmental health regulations surrounding food safety.

For example, getting rid of unsold surplus food from businesses can be challenging because it is often provided in inconsistent quantities late at night and in remote locations. As Celestial-One explains: “If it’s a used-by item, which most of it is, we have to reach the end-consumer by midnight, so there are quite a lot of variables.”

Food picked up by Olio’s volunteers in South Derbyshire has included leftovers from hospital lunches, hotel breakfast buffets, and even biscuits and cakes that haven’t been consumed during office meetings.

“We had to make sure that the food was safe for collection and redistribution,” emphasises Betts. “The role of environmental health, and particularly my team, is to make sure that we aren’t compromising food safety, so we wanted to make sure that the food could be picked up safely and redistributed by volunteers.”

PRIMARY AUTHORITY

The first step for navigating all this was for Olio and South Derbyshire to develop processes for the safe collection and redistribution of food from businesses.

Olio’s app contains a series of interventions designed to prevent users from sharing food in an unsafe way, and volunteers will eventually be banned if they don’t follow these rules. “If people don’t follow the procedures, they’re taken off the system straight away and they’re not allowed to redistribute food,” explains Betts.

The next challenge was giving businesses confidence that they could join the scheme without compromising food safety, with all the reputational risk that could entail. As Karen Collier, the council’s assistant director, environment and communities, outlines, this entailed the council taking an “untravelled regulatory route with a unique type of food business”, and forging a ‘primary authority’ relationship with Olio. In other words, Olio would receive assured and tailored advice from the council on meeting the necessary regulations.

“We give Olio assured advice to protect the business from conflicting advice from other local authorities to ensure consistency,” highlights Betts.

NEED TO KNOW

An innovative public/private partnership between South Derbyshire District Council and app Olio is working to reduce food waste, including collecting and recycling food from businesses, communities, hospitals, hotels and even unconsumed biscuits and cakes from office meetings.

From small beginnings at the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Swadlincote, the ‘Share More, Waste Less’ partnership now encompasses 8,000 UK collection sites. It has rescued 125 million meals, and recently won the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Public/ Private Partnership Award.

South Derbyshire has a ‘primary authority’ relationship with Olio, which ensures it receives single-source assured advice on compliance that must be respected by other local authorities.

For Olio, this has essentially enabled it to use South Derbyshire’s advice as a ‘one-stop shop’ as the service has expanded, rather than having to deal with

‘WE NEED THIS LEVEL OF VALIDATION TO PERSUADE RETAILERS TO DONATE THEIR FOOD TO US, TO GIVE THEM PEACE OF MIND AND CONFIDENCE TO KNOW THAT OUR SYSTEMS ARE ROBUST ENOUGH TO MINIMISE ANY RISK’

Olio’s volunteers recieve food safety training

dozens of different environmental health departments, potentially all giving slightly different or inconsistent advice. South Derbyshire’s environmental health team also liaises with colleagues in trading standards to keep up to date with evolving requirements.

Every year, South Derbyshire has to renew Olio’s assured advice, which means auditing the company’s policies and procedures, including its training arrangements. In addition, throughout the year, Olio will direct any concerns from other councils to the South Derbyshire EH team as the primary authority.

“Any enquiries from other local authorities can be directed to South Derbyshire,” says Celestial-One. “They’re our first line of the first point of contact for the other local authorities.”

NAVIGATING REGULATIONS

Olio’s volunteers receive continual training and conduct self-assessments of their kitchens to demonstrate they are up to scratch.

Olio “definitely” needed South Derbyshire’s expertise to help navigate the food safety regulatory framework, Celestial-One concedes. “It’s been essential because we need this level of validation to persuade retailers to donate their food to us, to give them peace of mind and confidence to know that our systems are robust enough to minimise any risk,” she tells EHN.

Olio’s 132,000 volunteers now collect from a wide spectrum of outlets. Indeed, since the establishment of the ‘Share More, Waste Less’ partnership in 2017, the company now has 8,000 active collection sites across the UK, rescuing 125 million meals.

During this time, it has only experienced two food-safety incidents, neither “serious”, according to Celestial-One. Having already expanded into the Republic of Ireland, Olio is now launching pilot projects in Mexico and Singapore, she adds.

The collaboration recently received a prestigious plaudit from specialist local government publication Local Government Chronicle (LGC), winning its Public/Private Partnership Award at the LGC Awards 2025 in June.

Celestial-One, for one, has no doubt how important the company’s relationship with South Derbyshire has been. “It’s been transformational,” she says.

British Lion eggs are approved by the Food Standards Agency to be eaten runny by pregnant women, children and the elderly.

LEGAL BRIEFING

Lessons on noise notices

The High Court confirmed that minor additions to a noise abatement notice aren’t fatal and councils acting reasonably face limited risk of costs

WORDS BY TIM EVERETT

For this legal briefing, we’re looking at the case of the London Borough of Enfield versus Anthony Beckford.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

While it may be unwise to add any additional text to a ‘simple’ abatement notice, it is not necessarily fatal. The case, essentially, confirms the settled law on not awarding costs against councils for carrying out their statutory functions unless they have acted unreasonably.

It also confirms that an appeal by way of case stated is restricted to issues of law and jurisdiction, so the facts will be those as stated by the magistrates.

BACKGROUND

This was a domestic noise complaint involving two terraced houses. An abatement notice under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was served on Beckford in April 2022.

This notice asked for the nuisance from noisy music to be abated, but then went on to add: “Exercise proper control of the volume of sound generated at the premises to ensure that the total

Domestic

disputes are a key area of statutory nuisance law

volume of sound emitted is not likely to cause a nuisance to persons residing in the vicinity.”

Beckford appealed against this notice. The district judge found there had been a statutory noise nuisance, which justified serving it. However, she quashed the notice on the basis that, by requiring unspecified steps to be taken, it was invalid. She also stated that the requirements were unreasonable in character or extent.

She ordered the council to pay half of Beckford’s costs. Enfield appealed, basing this on five questions for the High Court to answer. These were whether the district judge had been right to: find that the notice needed to specify the steps to be taken; that the notice was therefore invalid; that the wording of the notice was unreasonable; that the notice should be quashed; and that Enfield therefore should pay half of Beckford’s costs.

The answer to all five was a resounding “no”. The extra words in the notice, the High Court argued, merely repeated the requirement to

FRSPH

is a former president of CIEH as well as a trainer and researcher in environmental health law

‘THECASECONFIRMSTHESETTLEDLAWONNOTAWARDINGCOSTS AGAINSTCOUNCILSFORCARRYINGOUTTHEIRSTATUTORYFUNCTIONS’

Dr Tim Everett LLB LLM PhD

FCIEH CMCIH

CEnvH

noise

LEGAL BRIEFING

‘FOLLOWING LEGAL PRECEDENT COUNCILS ARE ALWAYS ABLE TO USE THE SIMPLE NOTICE FORMAT’

abate the nuisance by whatever means Beckford chose.

There were various options, and the council didn’t have to specify which. Following legal precedent (see references below), councils are always able to use the ‘simple’ notice format. This is particularly relevant for noise complaints, where the perpetrator could always turn the music down or off, which would cost nothing.

Beckford understood what he was required to do, as subsequent visits had shown compliance. On the other hand, the extra words did not add anything to the notice, the High Court ruled. The High Court did what the district judge should have done, which was to delete the unnecessary surplus words as allowed by Regulation 2(5) of the Statutory Nuisance (Appeals) Regulations 1995. These extra words did not, however, make the notice unreasonable.

On the question of costs, the London Borough of Enfield had correctly stated the case law, which emphasises that a council should not be penalised if it loses such an appeal, provided it has acted honestly and reasonably in the exercise of its public duties.

The presumption is that no order for costs should have been made at the magistrates’ court hearing. Enfield was entitled to apply for the costs of the further appeal.

COMMENT

In summary, district judges usually have limited experience of statutory nuisance these days, so they will sometimes go astray. However, on the point about costs, it indicated that she was unaware of an issue that applies to a wider range of functions.

The council could have saved some time and money by not inserting those extra words in the first place. Less is more!

USEFUL LINK

l A fuller analysis of this case can be found at bit.ly/3HZrBAx

REFERENCES: Cambridge City Council v Douglas [2001]; R v Falmouth and Truro Port Health Authority ex parte South West Water [2000]

Lifetime ban for landlords operating illegal rent-to-rent scheme

THE STORY

In 2023, landlords Dimitri Viconschi, Karlis Cernihs and Aleksejs Cugurovs from Northampton, and Vadims Oblivoks from London were prosecuted for their roles in operating unlicensed and non-compliant houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) across Northampton. The case was covered in the June 2023 issue of EHN. An investigation by West Northamptonshire Council’s private sector housing team, led by Chris Stopford, uncovered a rent-to-rent scheme in which the offenders leased properties from high-street letting agencies and illegally sublet them as HMOs. It was revealed that 14 properties were being operated as illegal HMOs, and more than 290 health and safety breaches were found across all the homes.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT

As the conditions at the investigated properties posed serious risks to tenants’ health and safety, the council decided to take further action and obtain a banning order to prevent the offenders from being landlords of private rented accommodation or

The HMOs had a lack of fire safety measures

There was an absence of waste disposal facilities

acting as letting agents for life. The serious issues included a lack of fire safety measures, inadequate building maintenance, failure to maintain water supplies, absence of waste disposal facilities, and failure to provide the required documentation. In April this year, the First Tier Tribunal granted the order to ban the four landlords after a virtual hearing of the case. The housing team carried out further investigations, and Susan Desfontaines from the council’s in-house legal team was the solicitor for the hearing. The four offenders have also been added to the national database of rogue landlords

LESSONS LEARNED

Cllr Charlie Hastie, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “This outcome sends a clear message that we will not tolerate landlords who put profit before people. We are committed to protecting tenants and ensuring all rental properties meet the legal standards for safety and quality.”

Also inadequate maintenance of living spaces

AUTHORITY: West Northamptonshire Council DEFENDANT: Dimitri Viconschi, Karlis Cernihs, Vadims Oblivoks, Aleksejs Cugurovs OUTCOME: Lifetime banning order OFFENCES UNDER: Housing and Planning Act 2016

Motorsport organiser fined for carbon monoxide poisoning

THE STORY

In February 2024, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to an indoor live-action car event at Staffordshire County Showground, as several spectators felt unwell and high levels of carbon monoxide were reported. The venue was evacuated and the event, organised by Motorport With Attitude (MWA) Ltd, was cancelled.

A total of 17 people required hospital treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, which nearly tipped the hospital into declaring major incident status.

Fire officers found the carbon monoxide readings in the arena were 10 times higher than the safe levels. The ventilation fans were found to be inadequate, and flags and obstacles were hindering the air-monitoring equipment.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT

An investigation was launched by the EH team at Stafford Borough Council. Gillian McMullin, senior EHO, said MWA Ltd had failed to inform the council about the event before it took place. She said: “The firm hadn’t made any attempt to inform the authority’s Safety Advisory Group that the event was happening, despite this being part of the terms of hire for the venue. We had not received any notification about this event taking place.”

McMullin added: “It emerged that the firm had employed a health and safety adviser, who raised issues before the event and had sent an email the day before to say urgent improvements relevant to fumes and ventilation within the venue were required. This was not acted on.”

Asda fined after out-of-date food items discovered

THE STORY

In January 2024, food safety officers from Shared Regulatory Services (a partnership between Bridgend, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Council) carried out a routine food hygiene inspection at Asda’s Leckwith store. The officers discovered 36 out-of-date food items for sale, including five tubs of spicy mayo, seven days past their expiration date. The items were all on the shelves displaying reduced items for sale.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT

Further visits to Asda stores in Cardiff were made by officers, including those in response to complaints received from customers who had bought

AUTHORITY: Stafford Borough Council

DEFENDANT: Motorsport with Attitude Ltd director David Rennie

OUTCOME:

£61,645.78 in fines and costs

OFFENCES UNDER: Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

17 spectators were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning

David Rennie, director of MWA Ltd, pleaded guilty to five health and safety charges on behalf of MWA Ltd, including not making a valid risk assessment for the event. On 4 July this year, the company was fined at Cannock Magistrates’ Court.

LESSONS LEARNED

McMullin said: “The council’s Civil Contingencies Unit was able to provide contact details of the emergency responders that attended the site, which enabled our team to gain a clear picture of the incident quickly to determine the best course of action.”

Had a successful prosecution?

Please tell us about it: email editor@cieh.org

The out-of-date products included children’s foods

out-of-date food. Officers visiting the Asda Pentwyn store in March 2024 found 25 outdated items on sale. A return visit a month later to the store in the Cardiff Gate Retail Park found 48 out-of-date items, including some which were 12 days past their expiry date. A second visit to the Leckwith store in May that year found a further six out-of-date items.

Christina Hill, operational manager for health and public protection, said: “Asda is a large company, one which you would expect to have good processes in place to prevent this from happening. In this case, it was clear their systems were inadequate.”

AUTHORITY: Cardiff Council

DEFENDANT: Asda

OUTCOME:

£640,000 fine, £15,115 costs, £2,000 surcharge

OFFENCES UNDER: General Food Regulations 2004, Regulation 49(b)

She added: “Working with the unit and the council’s comms team was imperative to ensure accurate information was shared by the press. It’s tricky when spectators have shared videos online.”

In July, Asda was fined at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court after previously pleading guilty to four charges of selling unsafe food.

LESSONS LEARNED

Alexa Pieris, team manager for food safety and port health, said the investigative skills of the EHPs involved were vital in bringing about the prosecution.

She said: “In response to the PACE interview, we were provided with a lot of documentation with regards to the systems the stores had in place, so that took a lot of scrutinising to understand the systems they had, and then look for any deficiencies in them, which we were able to uncover.”

She added that the case had also highlighted the importance of routine inspections.

SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICER (ENVIRONMENT)

£41,506 - £47,910

Are you an experienced professional in environmental health or acoustics, with strong technical knowledge and leadership skills? Do you enjoy taking ownership of complex cases and making a visible impact in your community?

THE ROLE

At East Herts Council, we are seeking a Senior Technical Officer (Environment) to lead on our noise work and play a key role in shaping the future of environmental protection in the district. This role offers variety, responsibility, the flexibility of 50% home working, and the chance to contribute to major planning and development decisions in East Herts.

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?

As the Senior Technical Officer (Environment), your main responsibilities will include:

• Leading on all noise-related work - acting as the council's senior officer for noise, overseeing complex cases, providing expert advice, and guiding co/leagues.

• Assessing and responding to planning applications -ensuring environmental considerations, particularly noise, are properly addressed and mitigated in new developments.

• Managing and developing the council's approach to noise investigations - setting standards, supporting enforcement, and helping to deliver continuous improvement in how we respond to complaints.

We welcome applications from both environmental health professionals and those with an acoustics background who have experience in noise and environmental issues.

For an informal discussion about the role and to find out more about East Herts Councils aim please contact Claire Spendley, Environment Team Manager on 01279 655261

Closing date: 17/10/2025 at Midnight.

Interviews: Week commencing 27th October.

For more information and to apply please visit www.ehn-jobs.com/job/345364/

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council is a small Council with big values. We are committed to ensuring our services are delivered to the highest possible standard and we put the customer at the forefront of everything we do. By working for us you will become part of the team and will play your part in serving our community. We are currently recruiting for an Environmental Health Officer (Private Sector Housing).

This role involves inspecting properties and identifying defects and remedies. You will have good negotiating skills and be confident in your knowledge of the legal framework we work in. You will be able to use a wide variety of legislation to remove health and safety hazards to make homes safer for the occupants.

You must have either a Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health or relevant housing experience. You will also need to be HHSRSqualified.

To apply please visit www.ehn-jobs.com/job/345345/

Nuneaton-..~~ Bedworth~ United to Achieve

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHOFFICER

Salary: between £37,280 to £40.777 pa (pro rata) plus a temporary market forces supplement of £2,555 pa (pro rata).

Contract: Permanent, part-time, 22.2 hours per week.

East Staffordshire Borough Council is a high-performing authority and a great mix of town and country. Our Environmental Health Team cover a vast range of food businesses; home to Coors and Marstons, we have a range of approved premises and manufacturers including minced meat prep, meat products and cheese manufacturers and are primary authority for Punch Taverns.

An exciting opportunity has opened for a part-time Environmental Health Officer who has experience and competence specifically in food hygiene. This position offers an excellent career development opportunity to develop skills and experience in approved premises regulation and primary authority partnerships.

The postholder will be instrumental in delivering our reactive and proactive work programmes alongside a team of experienced officers to ensure statutory duties and service delivery targets are met and professional services are delivered to customers.

If you would like an informal chat about this opportunity, please contact Rachel Liddle, Environmental Health Manager by emailing rachel.liddle@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk

Closing Date: Thursday 16 October 2025

For more information and to apply please visit www.ehn-jobs.com/job/34S330/

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHPRACTITIONER

Location: Birchwood Park, Warrington (with national travel)

Salary: £40,000 -£42,000 + great benefits

Looking for a role where you can make a real difference -and still have a life outside work? At Mercury Support, we help some of the most exciting names in hospitality (think buzzing bars, restaurant groups, universities, and healthcare providers) stay ahead of food safety and health & safety compliance. We're not your average consultancy. We're a people-first team who values honesty, professionalism, and a sense of fun. We're now looking for an Environmental Health Practitioner who's passionate about compliance and great with people.

WHAT YOU'LLDO

Support a mix of hospitality, education, and healthcare clients. Deliver expert advice on food safety and health & safety. Build strong relationships and help clients raise their standards. Travel to client sites (full UK driving licence essential).

WHAT YOU'LLGET

£40k-£42k salary,33 days holiday (including bank holidays)+ your birthday off. Enhancedmaternity/paternity pay & pension contribution. Health CashPlan-claim back medical costs. Paid mileage, expenses card, free parking, company uniform. CIEHmembership paid &ongoing training. Flexible working and real trust to manage your time. Office breakfasts & social events (because work should be fun!)

WHO YOU ARE

A qualified Environmental Health Practitioner (local authority experience is a bonus). Great communicator, organised, proactive -and happy to travel. Sound like you?

LET'SCHAT!

Call Nicole Campbell on 01925 396936 for an informal discussion or email nicole@mercurysupport.co.uk

411East

Salary: Grade 9, £39,890 - £~~.096

Contract: Full Time, 37 hours per week, permanent Closing date: 26th October 2025

The City of Doncaster Council is a confident, ambitious organisation which puts improving the life of its residents at the centre of everything we do. You have a opportunity to be part of this in the role of Senior Environmental Health Practitioner/Environmental Health Practitioner.

The Regulation & Enforcement Service are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated individual to work within the Food Team, as a Senior Environmental Practitioner or Environmental Health Practitioner.

The Food Team is responsible for delivering the Council's Food Hygiene, Food Standards, and H&S functions together with our imported food responsibilities.

In return for your hard work and dedication, we can offer you the chance to be part of a great team dedicated to ensuring that all people in Doncaster thrive. You will also have access to a variety of attractive employee benefits including competitive leave entitlement, a generous local government pension scheme, a wide range of well-being support and development opportunities. You will also have access to a range of staff discount and benefits schemes.

For further details or an informal chat please contact: Michael Griffiths, Tel: 01302 736720 or e-mail: michael.griffiths@doncaster.gov.uk

For more information and to apply please visit www.ehn-jobs.com/job/345365/

Chartered Institute of • Environmental Health~

CIEH Governance Volunteer Opportunities

CIEH is seeking passionate volunteers to join its governance committees and advisory groups, supporting its mission to create safer, cleaner, and healthier environments.

Appointments and Remuneration Committee

Open to CIEH members of any grade, this role involves recommending Board appointments, reviewing Board composition, advising on CEOremuneration, and employment policy changes. Ideal candidates have recruitment experience.

Risk and Audit Committee

Open to both members and non-members, this role includes reviewing audit plans and findings, advising on the annual report, and overseeing external audit provider reviews. Experience in risk and audit is preferred.

Welfare Fund Committee

Open to CIEH members, this committee decides on funding applications and advises the Welfare Fund Board. No specific experience is required, but empathy with applicants is essential.

Membership, Profession and Policy Advisory Group

Two roles are available: one for an early-career EHP member and one for an academic in environmental health (member or non-member). Responsibilities include advising on membership, professional registration, ethics, qualifications, and policy development.

CIEH values diversity and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. Governance expertise is not required-just enthusiasm, perspective, and a commitment to environmental health.

Application deadline: 9am, Monday 27 October 2025

To find out more about these roles or apply please access the link below.

www.cieh.org/about-us/work-for-us/governance

We have two vacancies within the Environmental Health Services department: Environmental Health Services Manager and Team Leader; Environmental Health. Both roles are permanent (37 hours per week}, offer hybrid working, and focus on delivering high-quality, customer-focussed services that protect safety, health, and the environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES MANAGER

Scale 9 (£53,460-£54,495) pa

Created following a restructure. The council is seeking an inspirational and motivational Service Manager to lead and develop cost-effective services.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day management and guidance to Team Leaders.

Oversee services including commercial environmental health, nuisance, housing, contaminated land, car parking, net zero, and licensing.

• Actively shape the team, provide proactive leadership during the transition, and serve as a role model.

Essential Requirements

• Excellent, detailed technical knowledge of Environmental Health Services Legislation, procedures, and functions within a Local Authority (e.g., food safety, air quality, housing).

• A relevant professional qualification.

TEAM LEADER, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Scale 7 (£45,091-£48,226) pa

This new position involves supporting the team and providing day-to-day management, guidance, and mentoring to officers.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage functions including enviro-crime, environmental protection, public health, and housing.

• Provide appropriate mentoring, support, and training.

Essential Requirements

• Excellent, detailed technical knowledge of Environmental Health Legislation, procedures, and functions (e.g., nuisance, housing, enviro-crime).

• A relevant professional qualification.

Benefits and Application Details

Both roles include benefits such as a Local Government Pension scheme, flexible working (including a flexi-time scheme), and free car parking. Both require a Basic DBS check.

The closing date for applications is Midnight Tuesday 28th October 2025, with interviews scheduled for Wednesday 5th November 2025. For an informal discussion, contact Caroline Harbour on 0116 272 7543.

The council is a Disability Confident Employer committed to equality, offering a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled people, care leavers, and those in the Armed Forces.

Apply online at www.blaby.gov.uk/jobs

Latest opportunities in Environmental Health

£52,413-£64,811

EnvironmentalHealthOfficer or SpecialistTechnicalOfficer

£36,124-£43,693

EnvironmentalHealthOfficer (Health and Safety)

£42,839-£46,142

EnvironmentalHealthOfficerPrivateSectorHousing

£42,060 -£54,267

Established

We specialise in the contract recruitment of Environmental Health Officers across the Public Sector. From Officers through to Directors, we connect skilled professionals with councils and organisations nationwide. Our network covers various roles, ensuring our clients have the expertise they need to meet regulatory demands and deliver safe, healthy communities.

Specialists in recruiting top talent for Environmental Health, Public Protection, and Regulatory Services. Permanent, contract, and ad-hoc roles in both public and private sectors. Founder and Owner Ricky Sharpe brings over eight years of industry experience and a wealth of knowledge to the table. Let's have a chat on 020 8036 3499 and take that lifechanging next step on your career journey! ricky@sharperconsultingservices.co.uk www.sharperconsultingservices.co.uk

__n ENVIRONMENTALHEALTH SOLUTIONS & TRAINING

Protecting Your Business is Our Business

Environmental Health Solutions & Training (EHST) provide a range of environmental health consultancy services including food safety, healthy and safety, construction safety, housing standards, acoustics and noise nuisance investigations, preparation of expert advice for planning and public enquiries and attendance at court as expert witness.

If

Contact us on today 020 8680 1465 info@ehsolutions.co.uk www.ehsolutions.co.uk

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OR/083204

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FOOD INSPECTION PROJECTS

Cat C-E and U Food Hygiene Inspections

Cat C Food Hygiene Inspections

Cat B-E and U Food Hygiene Inspections

Cat D Food Hygiene Inspections

Cat C/D Food Hygiene Inspections

FOOD/HEALTH & SAFETY

Food Safety Enforcement/ Inspections

Food Safety Enforcement/ Inspections

Food Safety Enforcement/ Inspections

Food Safety Enforcement/ Inspections

HOUSING/RESIDENTIAL

POLLUTION

Enviro Protection/ Stat Nuisance

Enviro Protection/ Pollution Pollution/ Noise

Enviro Protection/ Enforcement

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COMMITTED TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Buckingham Futures

Recruiting the Present, Inspiring the Future

FOOD/HEALTH&SAFETY

BF4775 Environmental Health Officer

BF4889 Senior/Principal -EHO (Food)

BF4932 Environmental Health Officer/ Food Safety Officer

BF4938 EHO (Food/Health and Safety)

BF4940 Environmental Health Officer (Food)

BF491S Senior Environmental Health Officer (Food) LICENSING

BF4933 Licensing Officer

BF4936 Licensing Compliance Officer

ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION

BF4924 Environmental Health Officer

BF4931 Environmental Health Officer (Pollution)

BF4934 Principal Environmental Protection Officer HOUSING

BF4926 Private Sector Housing Manager

BF4930 Technical Surveyor

BF4941 EHO (Private Sector Housing Reactive)

BF4943 Building Control Team Leader

BF4944 Building Control -Principal Inspector

Yanes Hassan. on 020 8125 1,321 or to register please email your CV to info@buckinghamfutures.com

YOUR LETTERS

VIEWS ON…

Safeguarding clean air, links with the IFEH, getting EH noticed and the EHN Jobs channel

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

CIEH’s support for cleaner air, both as a member of the Healthy Air Coalition (EHN, September 2025) and in its promotion of National Clean Air Day over the summer (EHN, June 2025), inspired me to reflect on how environmental health continues to shape the moral compass of sustainability.

Air quality is both an ancient concern and a modern frontier. We have known its dangers since the days of coal smoke, yet PM2.5 and indoor pollutants still infiltrate lungs, homes and futures.

What inspired me most is the role of community engagement. When children in Wiltshire measure particulates outside their classrooms, they are not merely gathering data – they are reframing environmental health as a lived experience.

Citizen science is not a novelty; it is a powerful democratisation of knowledge, shifting awareness from compliance metrics to collective responsibility.

Air is our most unifying element. To guard it is not to tick a regulatory box, but to secure the foundations of public health, equity and climate resilience.

Hassan Alzain, CIEH Fellow, Yale environmentalist and award-winning book author

FORGING LINKS WITH IFEH

will be a new

I’m writing as the honorary treasurer of the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) to let members know that we will be appointing a new president next year: Dr David Musoke from Uganda.

In the past, exchange visits have been organised between members of the IFEH, and this is something we are happy to explore again if any readers are interested, such as a short sabbatical.

I also wanted to highlight that the next IFEH World Congress will be taking place from 27 April to 1 May 2026 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where we will be celebrating 40 years of the IFEH.

It would be great to have UK representation at the event, as CIEH and those in the UK are long-standing supporters of the IFEH. We will be publishing further details in due course,

EHN_..,_-··

LUNGPOWER

which will include a call for papers for the event.

Andrew Mathieson

MAKE EH HEARD

HAVE YOUR SAY

EHN’s letters page is an opportunity for members to have your say about something you’ve read in EHN or just more generally. A form has been set up

We’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions or views!

Environmental public health is all too often below the radar – essential but overlooked, quietly protecting and improving lives without the recognition it deserves. If we want environmental health to be understood, valued and truly visible, we need to speak up and share what we do.

members to contribute to EHN – whether it’s your insights, case studies or reflections from the field or a letter. Let’s raise our collective voice and help make environmental health the force it truly is – loud, clear and impossi le to ignore.

Hi@HUIAMdUIIIHiiii iMildiA , Iviews. y " ,... , :11, ,s from - , ~ _,__,collective w,ro11mental health the - 10ud, clear impossible

EHN is circulated widely, and articles can e shared through other platforms.

.=.i-lNis circulated widely, and articles can be shared through other platforms.

Mark Elliott CEnvH, FCIEH, MPH is president of CIEH

Mark Elliott CEnvH, FCIEH, MPH is president of CIEH

CIEH has launched a EHN Jobs channel on the LinkedIn business networking social media platform.

CIEH has launched a EHN Jobs ch;:1"r on the LinkedIn busines~ r social media ,..,i--'

The channel highlights the latest job

recruitment pages within this magazine, plus the EHN Jobs website (ehn-jobs.com). You can find it on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/showcase/ehnjobs

Chartered Institute of Environmental

CIEHTACKLINGEMPTY HOMESCONFERENCE

With over 700,000 empty homes in England and 265,000 classified as long-term empty (LTE), it's time to talk about environmental health and the housing emergency.

Bringing LTEhouses back into use would not only help to address the housing shortage but have a significant impact on the communities around them. This new conference explores the latest guidance around empty homes and initiatives to tackle the housing emergency while meeting affordable and social housing needs.

Highlight topics

• Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs): framework and enforcement tools

• The future of Property Guardianship: a new housing solution?

• Empty homes strategies and campaigns: local authority case studies Scan

UKAS accredited calibration facility, see UKAS website for scope of UKAS accredited calibrations offered: anv.ms/ukas

THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSTRUMENTATION SPECIALISTS

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WEATHER

Real Time (1 minute uploads) Data; Essential for Pro-Active Control

Data is avaliable from the server (you don't have to download it from instruments in the field)

Noise and Vibration sensors excellent for use beyond the monitoring

Google Maps based interface

Setting the Standard for Environmental Noise Measurement

Designed for professionals

Full control and access to data from any web-enabled device

A minimum of 5 simultaneous limits available for each sensor

Up to 24 sets of limits per day and different limits each day