Environmental Health Annual Report 2016-2017
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LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 Contents Section Section Page No. No. 1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………. 3 2 Public Health – General Nuisance Enforcement Activity ……………………….. 6 3 Public Health – Govanhill ……………………………………………………………… 10 4 Licensing Standards ……………………………………………………………………. 14 5 Smokefree Enforcement ………………………………………………………………. 19 6 Food Hygiene ……………………………………………………………………………. 21 7 Food Standards ………………………………………………………………………….. 27 8 Health and Safety at Work Enforcement …………………………………………… 32 9 Contaminated Land ……………………………………………………………………. 35 10 Noise ………………………………………………………………………………………. 37 11 Vehicle Emission Testing (Including Vehicle Idling Enforcement) …………….. 40 12 Commercial Waste Enforcement ……………………………………………………. 43 13 Licensing and Events …………………………………………………………………… 47 14 Diet and Nutrition..................................................................................................... 53 15 Infectious Disease Investigation ……………………………………………………… 56 2 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 1. Introduction Scope and History of Environmental Health Environmental Health encompasses public health aspects of the natural and built environment which may affect human health. The scope of the environmental health profession in general terms includes a wide range of areas and disciplines, all of which seek to protect public health from hazards within the environment. The World Health Organisation stated in 2016 that: “Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical and biological factors external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviours. It encompasses the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health. It is targeted towards preventing disease and creating health-supporting environments.” The modern-day roots of the profession lie with the sanitary and public health movement in the UK. The most prominent advocate was Sir Edwin Chadwick, a social reformer of great renown, who founded the Association of Public Sanitary Inspectors in 1884. The role and repute of the Sanitary Inspector was nowhere stronger than in Glasgow, especially at the end of the 19th century when slum housing, poor sanitation, communicable disease and overcrowding contributed to the short life expectancy of citizens. Key Functions By the end of the 1970s, much of the Victorian-era problems had been addressed and the profession morphed into Environmental Health, with a new set of priorities. In Local Authority service delivery terms, the key areas of concern now include: • General Public Health – identification of “statutory nuisance” • Food Safety • Occupational Health and Safety • Air Quality • Housing – including identification and abatement of substandard housing • Noise pollution control • Infectious disease investigation • Land use – planning consultation • Pest Control • Safe drinking water • Liquid waste disposal • Environmental contamination The Environmental Health discipline has also widened to incorporate additional roles and functions – reflecting modern-day activities and concerns: • Smoking cessation enforcement • Littering • Sunbed licensing • Dog fouling and dog control 3 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 • Licensing Standards • Event Safety • Diet and Nutrition Environmental Health in Glasgow Until the 1990s, Environmental Health was a stand-alone Service within the Council. In 2016, the function sits within Land and Environmental Services (Sustainability and Environment Division). A number of key strands of work have, however, been lost to external agencies, e.g. SEPA and NHS, and others have been distributed to parts of the Council family, e.g. Development and Regeneration Services (DRS), Housing and Community Safety Glasgow. While core priorities have changed over time, the Environmental Health service remains central to the Council’s duty to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of citizens and visitors to Glasgow. Statistics There are several key performance indicator measurements pertaining to Environmental Health. The following are included within the LES ASPIR Report: Topic Performance Measure Target Performance 14/15 15/16 Public Health/Commercial Percentage of fly tipping, trade waste and litter complaints 90% 93% 80% Waste Enforcement responded to within 2 working days. Food Hygiene Percentage of food safety inspections carried out at 100% 100% 100% approved premises Food Hygiene Percentage of food safety inspections carried out at A-risk 100% 99% 100% premises Food Hygiene Percentage of food safety inspections carried out at B-risk 95% 97% 99.7% premises Food Hygiene Percentage of food safety inspections carried out at C-risk 40% 18% 43% premises Health and Safety Enforcement Percentage of workplace safety inspections carried out in A 100% 100% 100% Category premises (highest risk) Health and Safety Enforcement Percentage of workplace safety inspections carried out in B1 40% 25% 34% Category premises Noise Percentage of non-domestic noise complaints responded to 85% 91% 77% within 2 working days. Vehicle Emission Testing Number of vehicles examined at a formal roadside emissions 3000 2949 3022 test. Commercial Waste Number of premises visited per week on an advisory basis with 100 91 111 Enforcement regard to commercial waste. Additional, informal statistics are contained within the text of the report. Each of the following Sections provides detail on an aspect of Environmental Health activity. 4 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 The Environmental Health function is subject to performance monitoring and networking via the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE). 5 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 2. Public Health – General Nuisance Enforcement Activity Background Glasgow City Council has a statutory duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to investigate any statutory nuisances brought to its attention. The statutory nuisance regime has its roots in 19th Century public health protection legislation which was introduced in order to address the growing concerns around communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid. While the prevalence and nature of infectious disease in the city has changed significantly since that time, nuisance control and abatement remains an important part of present-day Council responsibility and current legislation still addresses and defines conditions that can be termed as Statutory Nuisance. Statutory Nuisance In general terms, there are two ways in which an occurrence, feature or activity may be designated as a Statutory Nuisance, either as a “nuisance” or as something deemed to be “prejudicial to health”. However, what constitutes a nuisance or something that is prejudicial to health is not defined in a general sense but rather has to be related to the nature of circumstances or situation as defined under the eight specified sub-sets of circumstances detailed in the legislation under section 79 (1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These are: Premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Smoke emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Animals kept in such a place or manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; Noise that is prejudicial to health or a nuisance and is emitted from or caused by a vehicle, machinery or equipment in a road Any other matter declared by any enactment to be a statutory nuisance Part III of the Act contains the main provisions on Statutory Nuisance. Where a Local Authority is satisfied that Statutory Nuisance exists, or is likely to occur or recur, it must serve an Abatement Notice on the person responsible. Public Health General Nuisance Activity supports the following Council Objectives: A City that looks after its vulnerable people Economic Growth A Sustainable City A Vibrant City 6 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 Notable activity in 2015-2016 LES Environmental Health strives to instigate projects which might prevent the occurrence or recurrence of nuisance conditions. It should be noted, however, that diminishing resources dictate that proactive work often has to be subordinated to demands to react to complaints and service requests. This creates difficulties where Environmental Health is less able than before to take preventative, strategic measures which may deliver effective early intervention. Ibrox and Cessnock Domestic and Bulk Waste Disposal Project An example of where proactive activity has been taken is the project carried out in Ibrox and Cessnock dealing with inappropriate disposal of domestic and bulk refuse. The purpose of the project was to determine the reason(s) why some residents fail to dispose of refuse and bulk items in a correct manner and to identify the possible solutions to overcome this. Officers from Environmental Health made initial visits to all properties in the designated area to determine if poor access to tenement backcourts was a cause. A letter was then sent to all residents indicating the correct method for disposal for domestic