Environmental health - commercial
There are new legal requirements for food businesses in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Islington Council is implementing Government instructions and legal requirements to help keep everyone safe.
The commercial environmental health team is responsible for ensuring that:
- food is safe to eat
- workplaces are safe and work activities are carried out safely
- smokefree public places legislation is enforced
- business premises do not cause a nuisance to their neighbours
To ensure that food is safe to eat, the team:
- works with businesses to ensure that all food sold, produced, stored or handled in the 2000 premises operating in Islington, is safe to eat
- inspects over 1000 food premises each year
- investigates complaints about food bought in the borough
- takes food samples for laboratory assessment
- provides training and advice to food businesses
To ensure that workplaces are safe and work activities are carried out safely, we:
- share enforcement responsibility with the Health and Safety Executive on the 5000 commercial premises in Islington
- work with employers to ensure that workplaces and work activities are safe
- visit approximately 400 workplaces each year to ensure that premises comply with health and safety at work requirements
- prioritise our work to contribute to the national priorities to reduce accidents and ill health caused by slips, trips and falls, lifting, carrying and other activities which cause a strain on the body; working at heights, stress, asbestos, exposure to chemicals and irritants causing dermatitis, occupational asthma etc; workplace transport
- investigate serious workplace accidents and complaints from employees and the public
To ensure that business premises don’t cause a nuisance to their neighbours, we:
- investigate complaints from neighbours about smells, putrescible waste and other public health hazards
- work with businesses to remedy the nuisance
To ensure that the smokefree public places legislation is enforced, we:
- have a lead officer available to provide expert advice
- work with the PCT
All complaints are investigated in accordance with the Regulators’ Compliance Code and Enforcement Concordat. There is also a Public Protection Enforcement policy which you can view in related documents below.
Contact
Commercial Environmental Health Service
Public Protection Division, Islington Council, 222 Upper Street London N1 1XR
Tel: 020 7527 3816 Fax: 020 7527 3057
Email: commercial.envh@islington.gov.uk