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Environmental Health ScotlandThe Royal Environmental HealthInstitute of Scotland3 Manor Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7DHTel: 0131 225 6999 Fax: 0131 225 3993 Website: www.rehis.orgOfficers of the InstitutePresident: Robert HoweSenior Vice President: Colin WallaceJunior Vice President: Rod HousePast President: Bernard ForteathPast President: John StirlingNorthern Centre Chairman: David RobertsonSouthern Centre Chairman: Evonne TennantNorthern Centre Secretary: Bob DrummondSouthern Centre Secretary: Martin MacNivenHonorary Treasurer: Martin HenryCourses Co-ordinator: Martin KeeleyMembers of CouncilWendy BarrieJohn BeveridgePaul BradleyJacqueline CunninghamSandy FraserJohn FraterMike HallsAndrew JamiesonSarah MacLeod-BonnarKeith McNamaraChristine MorrisonGraham RobertsonJohn SleithRobert SteensonAlistair ThomsonHonorary Vice PresidentsProfessor David BellamySir Ken CollinsGeorge GeorgallasRobin Harper MSPAlan M T JohnsonKenneth Macintosh MSPStewart Maxwell MSPAnn Marie Part***Chief Executive: Tom BellDirector of Professional Development: Kevin FreemanTraining Adviser: Ian McGrutherDirector of Training: Graham WalkerTraining Adviser: Dr Jane Bunting

Environmental Health ScotlandEnvironmental Health ScotlandVolume 20, Number 2 Summer 2008The Journal of The Royal Environmental Health Institute of ScotlandEnvironmental Health Scotland is published by theCouncil of The Royal Environmental Health Instituteof Scotland.Editor: Tom BellISSN 0950-3277The views expressed in this Journal are not necessarilythose of The Royal Environmental Health Institute ofScotland, the publisher or the editor. Articles, newsitems or letters are welcomed for publication but thepublisher reserves the right to edit contributions as theeditor sees fit. At the editor’s discretion, items submittedfor publication will be peer reviewed. All material issubmitted at owner’s risk. The publisher cannot be heldresponsible for loss or damage, however caused.Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without the prior permission of the publisherand copyright holder.On the cover: Robert Howe makes his PresidentialAddress at the REHIS Conference (see page 5).CONTENTSThe Chief Executive’s View 4REHIS Annual Conference 2008 -Presidential Address 5Management Committee 8Professional Conduct and Disciplinefor Corporate Members who areEnvironmental Health Officers 9REHIS Annual Conference 2008 -Community Response to Alcohol Problems 13The Law: Interpretation, Enforcementand Performance 16IFEH Matters 18SFSORB 19REHIS Annual Conference - Round-up 20National Service Reminiscences Project 22Health Protection Scotland - News 23Charity Climb for WaterAidREHIS Food Hygiene and Health andSafety Courses 24Gerry Davis Retires5REHIS Food and Health Courses6SPCCC7Nutrition Skills Joint Award8Food Standards Agency Scotland News 30Public Health and Housing Update Course 31SFELC SurveyExaminations and ProfessionalStandards Committee 34SEPA News5HSE LAU News6News in Brief7From the Courts8

Environmental Health ScotlandTHE CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S VIEWTom BellI was privileged to represent the Institute at the WorldCongress on Environmental Health in Brisbane inMay this year. Other members of the REHISdelegation were Robert Howe, the President, andBernard Forteath, a Past President and President Electof the International Federation of EnvironmentalHealth. My main remits were to represent the Instituteat the International Faculty Forum meeting, to organiseand man the exhibition stand and to attend as manysessions as possible for the purposes of continuingprofessional development.This was the first time that the Institute had hired anexhibition stand at a World Congress and, in keepingwith our green credentials, all display materialsused were designed in Scotland and printed off inAustralia. This not only reduced our carbon footprintbut significantly reduced the cost of the Institute’sparticipation. Given the overall theme of sustainabilityit was surprising that some exhibitors imported largenumbers of cardboard boxes full of promotionalmaterials. Our approach was to deal with any enquiriesverbally and to refer enquiring delegates to theREHIS website for common sense information on theInstitute’s activities. This ‘green’ approach waswelcomed by the many delegates who took theopportunity to visit the stand.The International Faculty Forum meeting was heldon Sunday 11 May and, within an hour of arriving inBrisbane, Robert Howe and I were representing theInstitute at the first of many events. Despite the factthat we had been travelling for over 36 hours it wouldbe fair to say that we played a very full part in thediscussions that unfolded at this meeting.The congress, entitled Environmental Health,A Sustainable Future, was officially opened onMonday 12 May and the sessions, held over fourdays, covered a wide range of issues including climatechange and environmental health; urbanisationand healthy settings for sustainability; indigenoushealth and disease control; environmental healthmanagement, major incident and risk management;and capacity building.Friday 16 May was the fifth and final day of thecongress and delegates were able to choose froman interesting range of all-day technical tours.Bernard Forteath and I chose to visit the SuncorpStadium, Queensland’s premier outdoor sporting venue,and the nearby Castlemaine XXXX brewery. It wasvery interesting to hear Australian views on publicsafety, occupational health and safety, and food safetyduring these visits.The Brisbane World Congress was superbly organisedand all delegates enjoyed an action packed, extremelyinformative and thought-provoking event. The congressorganisers, the Australian Institute of EnvironmentalHealth (rebranded as Environmental Health Australiaduring the congress) are to be congratulated on thesuccess of the event!It became very clear from the many discussionsbetween environmental health professionals from theFederation’s member organisations that partnershipsbased on mutual respect are the best way to deal withglobal environmental health issues. Organisations witha business-first approach and an ethos based on selfinteresthave little to contribute. The Institute looksforward to working in positive partnerships to protectand improve environmental and public health acrossthe globe.Presented papers are now available on the IFEH’swebsite www.ifeh2008.org.

Environmental Health ScotlandREHIS ANNUal conference 2008 - presidential addressby Robert HowePresented at the Annual Conference in Edinburgh, 17 April 2008Robert HoweThere are many today who question the relevance andindeed the future of Environmental Health in modernday society.Well let me make it clear, as long as there is humanlife there will be the issue of Environmental Health.It may not always have been called EnvironmentalHealth but since the creation of human life there havealways been rules designed to protect human health.The book of Leviticus in the Old Testament gives thefirst account of Environmental Health laws wherechapters 13 and 14 set out the procedures to deal withmildew on clothing and mildew in houses.From those biblical times, you can go through theages and find examples of Environmental Health inpractice. Its significance came to the forefront afterthe Industrial Revolution with the rapid expansion oftowns and cities and the burden that placed on livingand working conditions. Much of the resulting diseasein the 19th century prompted the public health reformmovement led by Edwin Chadwick. The work ofChadwick and his contemporaries culminated in thedevelopment of the Public Health legislation whichremained in force until the latter years of the 20thcentury.At this point it is worth reminding ourselves of thework commissioned by the Institute culminatingin the Old Report which defined EnvironmentalHealth as ‘that area of public health activity whichstrives to improve, protect and maintain health andwell-being through action on the physical environmentand on life circumstances’. It is accepted thatthis definition accurately describes the scope ofenvironmental health and reinforces that its raisond’être is in the improvement and protection ofpublic health.This is important! Whilst professionals workingwithin the field have always recognised themselvesas being part of the practice of public health, thesignificant public health role played by EnvironmentalHealth Officers has not generally been recognisedand appreciated by their local authority employers.That is not to say that their work has not beenacknowledged, but the problem arises if the roleof Environmental Health Officers is seen as beingsolely about the environment, without recognition ofthe impact environments can have on public health -even worse is the misconception that EnvironmentalHealth Officers simply enforce regulations.There are, of course, reasons for this unhelpfulposition. For instance, the word ‘environmental’ inisolation can give the wrong impression. We are notEnvironmental Officers, we are EnvironmentalHealth Officers. And also our association withregulatory services and the Hampton Review andBetter Regulation agenda can be misconstrued.Yes indeed, the practice of environmental healthhas a positive effect on the environment. However,it is the ability of the Environmental Health Officer(EHO) to recognise the public health implicationsof adverse environmental conditions and apply theinterventions to improve and protect public healthwhich are invaluable. It is the ability to take thisholistic view which sets EHOs apart from otherswho may be able to detect an environmental problembut do not have the knowledge to link it with potentialpublic health impacts. It is therefore little wonderthat we become increasingly frustrated that governmenthealth strategies recognise us as the only healthprofessionals working within local authorities, whilstour employers seem blissfully unaware of this fact.It should be emphasised that this position is notuniversal and that examples of good practice in termsof Community Health Partnerships and local authority/health board liaison do exist.It is therefore incumbent on all of us to be determinedto assert our public health credentials and not toaccept the status quo. We cannot blame others, andwe must influence the decision makers to ensure thatour contributions to the improvement and protectionof public health are duly recognised.

Environmental Health Scotlandworking to a common goal. More food handlers inScotland have received training in food hygiene throughrecognised certificated courses than ever before.This ensures that those working within the sector areequipped with the knowledge required to produce safefood for consumers and reduce the opportunities forinfections to be transmitted.REHIS accredited courses for food hygiene are fitfor purpose and continue to be popular, and this is atribute to the dedication and commitment of our trainingcentres. With a high employee turnover within thefood sector, it is essential that this trend continues toensure that foodborne infection cases continue to fall.This trend also benefits the economy as it results infewer working days being lost.In another example of our success, anti-social behaviournoise has in recent years manifested itself as aproblem which has adversely affected people’s livesand, as an element of the wider anti-social behaviour,has been a government priority. Once again, localgovernment environmental health services havedemonstrated that, when given the resources, theycan deliver. The recent Scottish Government reporton the effectiveness of the funding provided to tackleanti-social behaviour noise demonstrates a high levelof success.That report demonstrates successful outcomesachieved efficiently. In some cases the out of hoursnoise service has acted as the catalyst for environmentalhealth services to expand the range of out of hoursservices in an increasingly 24 hour, seven day aweek society. This trend once again demonstratesthe responsive, innovative approach of an extremelyrelevant modern day service.These are merely a few examples of whereenvironmental health is currently making apositive contribution to improving public healthand wellbeing.Whilst there are issues which present challenges tothe profession, and current developments which willbe subject to the continuous improvement process,we can also look forward with optimism to futureopportunities.It is likely that the new Public Health (Scotland)Act will be introduced later this year. This is one ofthe most crucial pieces of Public Health legislationin Scotland for over 100 years, and regulations on‘competent persons’ will accompany the new Act.The local authority competent person will be anEnvironmental Health Officer who holds the REHISDiploma in Environmental Health or equivalent.It is, however, likely that in years to come thecompetent person will change to Chartered EHO inthe regulations to mirror equivalence with our NHSBoard colleagues.This recognition should be viewed as an opportunityto increase the profile of EHOs as the recognisedpublic health professionals in local government,as defined in statute. Joint Health Protection Planswith local authorities and NHS Boards will also beprescribed by the new Act and these Plans within thecontext of Community Planning present opportunitiesfor environmental health to be at the heart of strategicplanning at a local level.This is an opportunity which must be grasped, and Iwould urge you all to take advantage of the opportunitiesafforded by the new Act. I would also appeal toyou to look to the future, in terms of local authoritycompetent persons and take advantage of the CPDscheme administered by REHIS, and achieveChartered EHO status prior to any future changesin regulations.The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland has recentlypublished the five priorities identified by the HealthProtection Advisory Group for Scotland over the nextthree years. Four of the five priorities incorporateenvironmental health involvement and once againdemonstrate the relevance of environmental healthin the context of modern day health protectionpriorities. Involvement in delivering on these prioritiesshould be used as an opportunity for environmentalhealth to demonstrate the significant role it playsin improving and protecting public health, and itis imperative that we report on positive outcomesto the Health Protection Advisory Group to ensurethat our contributions are recognised.I have summarised some challenges, successes andopportunities which demonstrate the continuingrelevance of environmental health and I hope theconference programme reflects current and future issueswhich will impact on us either now or in the future.Finally a word about climate change. Whateverthe reason, it is with us and we require to look atpotential health implications now to prepare for thefuture. Hence the conference title ‘EnvironmentalHealth and Sustainable Communities’, and don’tbe persuaded otherwise, the work of all who workwithin the field of Environmental Health and relatedareas is relevant now and may become more soin the future.I hope you all find the conference challenging,thought-provoking, enjoyable and of course relevant.Thank you.

Environmental Health Scotlandby Colin Wallace, Committee ChairmanManagement CommitteeEric Foskett AwardThe Committee was delighted to note that JohnStirling had been awarded the InternationalFederation of Environmental Health’s Eric FoskettAward for Notable Contribution to the Work of theFederation. In view of this well-deserved honour,the Committee agreed that John would also beinvited to represent the Institute at the next EuropeanFederation of Environmental Health meeting in Maltato receive his award from Bernard Forteath, in hiscapacity as IFEH President.Public Relations and Media Services ContractFollowing consideration of tenders for the Institute’sPublic Relations and Media Services contract,Vic Rodrick has been appointed. The contract is notscheduled to come into force until October 2008,however, early meetings are planned to discuss someinteresting publicity opportunities. On behalf of theManagement Committee, I would like to record myappreciation and thanks to Gerry Davis of DavisMedia (see page 25) who has represented and servedthe Institute well during his time with us.25th Annual ConferenceThe 25th Annual Conference held in Edinburgh on17 and 18 April 2008 has been very well received.My thanks are due to the Institute’s staff for theirpreparation, support and hard work that went intoensuring the event ran smoothly and successfully.Feedback from the conference indicates that thediversity and quality of presentations was of a highstandard and that the conference dinner had been athoroughly enjoyable event.In his report to the Management Committee thePresident also paid tribute to all involved in makingthis year’s conference an outstanding success butexpressed surprise and aggravation at the statementmade by a CoSLA representative in response to apress briefing relating to his Presidential Address atconference. The Chief Executive will write to theCoSLA Chief Executive requesting that a meeting bearranged involving both organisations’ Presidents andChief Executives.Annual General Meeting 2008The Committee is now looking at the arrangementsfor the Annual General Meeting in November 2008.Following on from last year’s successful approach,it has been agreed to run the Annual Presentation ofAwards on the evening of Wednesday 19 Novemberfollowed on Thursday 20 November by the AnnualGeneral Meeting and a ‘free to members’ ContinuingProfessional Development event.Scottish Government Short Life Working GroupSteady progress in relation to the promotion ofREHIS is being made by the Scottish GovernmentShort Life Working Group on the Future of theEnvironmental Health Profession in Scotland.Childcare Support at Institute MeetingsA remit from the Council with regard to considerationof assistance towards childcare support in relationto attendance at Institute meetings was considered,however, it was felt that there did not appear to bea pressing demand at this time. Nevertheless, if thiswas a particular issue for any member it could beconsidered on its own merit.Staffing Changes at the Institute’s OfficeThere is a new member of staff at 3 Manor Place.Aileen Sweetman has been appointed to a part-timeAdministrative Assistant post. Also, Cará Weston hasbeen appointed to the part-time post of Assistant tothe Director of Professional Development. Cará willstill also continue with her main duties as AccountsAdministrator.Special Strategic Review MeetingEvery three years the Institute holds a special strategicreview meeting. It was agreed to arrange this oncompletion of the Minister for Public Health’s ShortLife Working Group and possibly in November2008. The review meeting will comprise membersof the Management Committee and the Councilrepresentatives to the working groups.Environmental Protection UK - EU Air QualityDirectiveThe Committee agreed to support the EnvironmentalProtection UK initiative calling on the Governmentto commit to the UK’s full compliance with the newEU Air Quality Directive.

Environmental Health ScotlandProfessional Conduct and Discipline for CorporateMembers who are Environmental Health Officersby John FraterIn the Autumn 2007 issue of Environmental HealthScotland (Volume 19, Number 3) I mentioned thatthe Council has now adopted Regulations as toProfessional Conduct and Discipline and a Code ofDisciplinary Procedures for Corporate Members whoare Environmental Health Officers. I thought that itmight be helpful to take a look at the background tothe regulations and code and the process by which theywere adopted by the Institute.As, in so many matters with REHIS, the Institute’shistory is an important factor. REHIS can trace itsorigins to the formation of The Sanitary Inspectors’Association of Scotland in 1875. The Association wasrenamed The Sanitary Association of Scotland in 1878.The Association had a membership which was eagerto improve sanitary conditions in Scotland. One of theways it went about this was by training and education,and the award of qualifications. The earliest survivingrecord of these activities is the award of the Certificatein Sanitary Science to John McInnes, an ‘Inspector ofthe Poor’ from Glasgow, in 1890.It is probably fair to say that a high proportion of theAssociation’s members at this time were well-to-dosocial reformers. Certainly, when the Associationhad its conference in Inverness in 1905, the HighlandRailway struggled to provide enough first classcarriages available to make up a special trainto Strathpeffer for the delegates. Perhaps theAssociation’s membership did not include thosewho travelled third class! Yes, in these heady daysStrathpeffer had its own station, at the end of a shortbranch line from Fodderty Junction, to the west ofDingwall on the railway to Kyle of Lochalsh.The number of members of this type, rather thanwhat we would now know as environmental healthprofessionals, was probably the reason for the formationof The Sanitary Inspectors’ Association of Scotland in1891. This was a separate organisation, but, confusingly,took the same name as the Sanitary Association ofScotland had originally used. As far as I can tell,membership of this organisation was for SanitaryInspectors. The Sanitary Inspectors’ Associationappears to have seen itself as representing theprofession, but, very importantly, did not controlentry to the profession. Examinations and qualificationsremained under the control of The SanitaryAssociation of Scotland.Moving from the final decade of the 19th centuryto the final decade of the 20th, the situation wasfundamentally the same as that which applied toThe Sanitary Association of Scotland one hundredyears before. REHIS, which was formed in 1983 by amerger of the successor organisations to TheSanitary Association of Scotland and The SanitaryInspectors’ Association of Scotland, remained amembership organisation, with Environmental HealthOfficer (EHO) and non-EHO Corporate membershipcategories, which sought to provide a benefit tothe community by promoting the advancement ofEnvironmental Health. Along the way, it had beengranted the very great privilege to include ‘Royal’ inits name and it had become a charity. Unlike manypurely professional bodies which had sprung upduring the intervening years, REHIS existed toprovide a benefit to the community, rather to promotethe interests of a profession. This is a fundamentaldifference; expressed in Scottish charity terminology,the Institute endeavours to provide a public benefit,rather than a private benefit.REHIS was, until 2001, incorporated as a companylimited by guarantee, which is a normal method ofincorporation for a reasonably large membershipbasedorganisation or charity. Within the UnitedKingdom, by the end of the 20th century, most of theorganisations awarding professional qualifications wereincorporated by Royal Charter. By this time, theEuropean Union was involved with professionalqualifications because of its Directive on thematter, incorporated into UK law by The EuropeanCommunities (Recognition of ProfessionalQualifications) Regulations 1991, and there appearedto be a growing view that, to be a ‘CompetentAuthority’ under these regulations, incorporation byRoyal Charter would be likely to be required.REHIS decided to safeguard its position as anawarding body for professional qualificationsby petitioning for a Royal Charter. It also hopedto be able to offer the designation of ‘CharteredEnvironmental Health Officer’ to certain of

Environmental Health Scotlandits members. The earliest work for the petitionincluded draft Charter Articles and Bye-Laws anda code of conduct and outline disciplinaryprocedures, intended for Chartered EnvironmentalHealth Officers.As work on the petition continued, it became clearthat a much better approach was to seek to obtainincorporation by Royal Charter and then, at a laterdate, to seek permission for the necessary amendmentsto the Bye-Laws to allow for the designation of‘Chartered Environmental Health Officer’. Havingthis firmly in mind meant that the draft CharterArticles and Bye-Laws could be written to ensure thatall the necessary powers were included to make theforeseen future developments as straightforward aspossible to put into practice.At around the same time, an independent but relatedmatter was the general trend of professional bodiesintroducing schemes of Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD). The REHIS CPD schemecommenced in 1995.To recap then; on the first day of the new century,REHIS was:• a membership organisation,• incorporated as a company limited by guarantee,• a charity,• the professional and awarding body forenvironmental health in Scotland,• and petitioning for incorporation by RoyalCharter.The Institute’s petition was successful and TheQueen signed the Warrant for the Charter on31 January 2001, at Sandringham. The Letters Patentpassed under Her Majesty’s seal on 8 March 2001,at which point the Institute became incorporated byRoyal Charter. The ‘new’ REHIS had this specificpower with regard to CPD in its Bye-Law 9.3:‘The Council may, with a view to regulating theprofessional competence, standards and conduct ofsuch Corporate Members who are EnvironmentalHealth Officers as the Council may determine,adopt such Regulations as it thinks fit, including inparticular but without prejudice to the generality,Regulations as to continuing professional developmentas well as professional conduct and discipline.’The then President, Alistair Somerville, arrangedthat a resolution permitting a change to theBye-Laws to allow the designation of‘Chartered Environmental Health Officer’ wasproposed to the Institute’s AGM on 16 November2002. The resolution was passed and the Institutethen petitioned the Privy Council for an amendmentto its Bye-Laws to permit the designation of‘Chartered Environmental Health Officer’. The petitionwas successful and a new Bye-Law 8.3A was approvedby Their Lordships on 31 December 2003. The text ofBye-Law 8.3A is:‘Any Member entitled, by virtue of Bye-Law 8.3hereof, to use the designatory letters ‘EHO MREHIS’or ‘EHO FREHIS’, and who fulfils such conditions asthe Council may from time to time determine, willbe entitled to describe himself as a ‘CharteredEnvironmental Health Officer’ and, as indicative thereof,to use the designatory letters ‘Ch.EHO MREHIS’ or,as the case may be, ‘Ch.EHO FREHIS’.’The Council lost no time in putting its new powersinto effect and a Council Regulation was made on 12June 2004, worded as follows:‘For the purposes of Bye-Law 8.3A of the Bye-Laws of the Institute, it is hereby resolved that anyMember entitled, by virtue of Bye-Law 8.3, to usethe designatory letters ‘EHO MREHIS’ or ‘EHOFREHIS’, will be entitled to describe himself asa ‘Chartered Environmental Health Officer’ andas indicative thereof to use the designatory letters‘Ch.EHO MREHIS’ or, as the case may be, ‘Ch.EHOFREHIS’ if and only if there is in force in relationto him a valid Annual Certificate of Complianceissued pursuant to the Scheme of ContinuingProfessional Development adopted by the Institutefor members who are Environmental Health Officers,and such Certificate has not been suspended, revoked,withdrawn or otherwise cancelled.’The first Annual Certificates of Compliance with theScheme of Continuing Professional Developmentrequirement for Members who are EnvironmentalHealth Officers were issued at the Institute’sconference in Edinburgh on 18 November 2004.This meant that there were now members ofREHIS entitled to describe themselves as CharteredEnvironmental Health Officers.The Institute’s objects, contained in Article 3 of itsCharter, include as Object (c) ‘… for the benefitof the community to promote the advancement ofEnvironmental Health by:‘maintaining, by examinations or otherwise, highstandards of professional practice and conduct on thepart of Environmental Health Officers in Scotland.’10

Environmental Health ScotlandThe Institute seeks to achieve this object by takinga multi-strand approach. The Institute’s Diploma inEnvironmental Health is the first strand and compliancewith the scheme of CPD is the second strand.But what about the third strand, professional conductand discipline? Bye-Law 9.2 gives the Institutepowers to remove members whose conduct is ‘…in the opinion of the Council, detrimental to thestanding or prejudicial to the interests of the Institute’.This is fine as far as it goes for a membershiporganisation and similar clauses will be seen all overthe land in the constitutions of tennis clubs, ballroomdancing associations, ferret fanciers’ clubs and suchlike.However, this power is not particularly helpful inthe context of the public benefit to be providedby ‘maintaining … high standards of professionalpractice on the part of Environmental HealthOfficers in Scotland’. Something more relevantto a EHO member’s professional conduct, ratherthan just ‘conduct detrimental’ to the Institute isobviously required.Bye-Law 9.3 also contains powers for the Councilto adopt regulations with regard to professionalconduct and discipline. Subsequent to incorporationby Royal Charter, much activity had been goingon in the background by a working group ofCouncil Members and the Director of ProfessionalDevelopment to prepare instructions for the Institute’ssolicitor to produce the text for the necessary CouncilResolutions to adopt regulations. The starting pointfor this work was the draft material produced for thefirst draft of the petition for a Royal Charter. Thiswas thoroughly and painstakingly revised and theCouncil was finally able, on 2 June 2007, to resolveto adopt Regulations as to Professional Conduct andDiscipline for Corporate Members who areEnvironmental Health Officers.In this context, the Institute’s Bye-Law 9.4 is veryimportant as it states:‘In the adoption of a Code of Disciplinary Procedurespursuant to Bye-Law 9.3 hereof the Council will beobliged to secure:-(i) that any Member against whom a disciplinarycomplaint is made receives written notice ofthe grounds of complaint against him insufficient time to allow him properly to answerthe same at any hearing fixed to consider such acomplaint; and(ii) that any disciplinary hearing is fairly conductedin accordance with the rules of natural justice; and(iii) that any such Member has a full opportunityof defending himself and of being represented byanother person of his choice at the hearing of thecomplaint; and(iv) that any such Member has the right to appealagainst the decision of the Council or other bodyestablished for the purpose of considering thecomplaint to the Members in General Meeting, orto an Appeals Committee established by the Councilto consider such appeals, and has the right to attend,speak at, and be represented at the appeal hearing.’This Bye-Law gave a clear framework for a Code ofDisciplinary Procedures but more detailed contenthad to be prepared. This was achieved after a greatdeal of careful and diligent work by the workinggroup and the Institute’s solicitor. The period between1990 and 2007 had seen many changes to the socialand legal environment in which professional bodiesoperate. The courts were beginning to take aninterest in disputes between professional, and indeedother membership-based, organisations and theirmembers. In addition, the whole area of what mightbe loosely called human rights legislation hadmushroomed. This meant that the preparation of a Codeof Disciplinary Procedures had to take into accountthese, and likely future, developments as well as therequirements of Bye-Law 9.4. Useful contact wasmade with other organisations which had experiencein operating a code of disciplinary proceduresand REHIS was fortunate to be able to learn fromtheir experiences.At its meeting on 2 June 2007, the Council alsoresolved to adopt a Code of Disciplinary Proceduresfor Corporate Members who are EnvironmentalHealth Officers. The Regulations as to ProfessionalConduct and Discipline and the Code of DisciplinaryProcedures are essentially two sides of the samemedal and, for convenience, will normally bepublished together under the title of ProfessionalConduct and Discipline.When the three strands used by the Institute to achieveObject (c) are firmly plaited together they achieve,in my view, a strength which is greater than the sumof their three parts. They provide the opportunityfor REHIS to designate Chartered EnvironmentalHealth Officers. What better way of, for publicbenefit, promoting the advancement ofEnvironmental Health can there be than makingChartered Environmental Health Officersavailable to serve the community? And, of course,REHIS is the only organisation in the world with11

Environmental Health Scotlandthe power to designate Chartered EnvironmentalHealth Officers.I should like to conclude this article by setting out howall the foregoing fits together, using, in each instance,the most straightforward example I can think of.REHIS exists to provide a benefit to the community byinter alia ‘maintaining, by examination or otherwise,high standards of professional practice and conducton the part of Environmental Health Officers inScotland’.Its Charter demands this and the new law in Scotlandrequires charities to demonstrate a public benefit.REHIS awards the Diploma in Environmental Health,awarded its predecessor qualifications, and intends to bethe awarding body for any successor qualifications.Possession of the Diploma in Environmental Healthallows an individual to practise as an EnvironmentalHealth Officer (EHO) in Scotland. Membership ofREHIS is not required and there is no time limit onthe Diploma.Corporate Membership of REHIS allows an EHO toparticipate in the Scheme of Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment for Members who are EnvironmentalHealth Officers.EHOs who are not members cannot participate; theymight be able to attend training events and suchlike,but they cannot participate in this scheme.Corporate EHO Members of REHIS who arein possession of a valid Annual Certificate ofCompliance with the Scheme of ContinuingProfessional Development are entitled todescribe themselves as ‘Chartered EnvironmentalHealth Officers’.Only an EHO in current Corporate Membershipof REHIS can be a Chartered EHO.All Corporate Members of REHIS who are EHOsmust comply with the Regulations as to ProfessionalConduct and Discipline for Corporate Members whoare Environmental Health Officers.Only EHOs who are Corporate Members of REHISare required to comply. Non compliance would beaddressed using the Code of Disciplinary Proceduresfor Corporate Members who are Environmental HealthOfficers. If a Chartered EHO was removed frommembership, the right to use the designation wouldimmediately be lost.By these means, the Institute seeks to maintain highstandards of professional practice and conduct on thepart of Environmental Health Officers in Scotland.REHIS will endeavour to demonstrate the benefits ofEHOs being members of the Institute to employers,other organisations and the public generally.The Institute is seeking to do this for the benefit ofthe community, or in other words, to provide a publicbenefit.Any private benefit which members derive from thesearrangements is purely incidental.In one way and another, I have been involvedin the Royal Charter process and its subsequentdevelopments for 14 years and should like to placeon record my appreciation of the assistance andsupport I received from Council Members over theyears, Tom McFarlane, our solicitor then as now, andTom Bell and Helen Black, both of whom, happily,remain employees of the Institute.John Frater is the Council Member with responsibilityfor Royal Charter matters.***REHIS websitewww.rehis.orgNew features have beenadded to the members’ area.REHIS welcomes the submissionof articles for publication inEnvironmental Health Scotland.Submissions of researchbasedarticles are especiallywelcome.12

Environmental Health Scotlandby Dr Bruce RitsonREHIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008 -COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ALCOHOL PROBLEMSPresented at the Annual Conference in Edinburgh, 17 April 2008Alcohol as a health hazardAlcohol is a prime example of an environmentalhazard. The consequences of misuse are evident inthe everyday life of our communities. Beer cans,broken bottles and worse litter pavements and parks.Pedestrians pick their way past these alongsideother hazards such as vomit and urine. Manyneighbourhoods complain of noise and disturbancesof public order with attendant risks of more seriousconcerns such as crime, violence, injury and accidents.Less immediately evident is the erosion of publichealth and well-being that accompanies chronic,excessive drinking as well as the damagingconsequences at the workplace and in the home.Alcohol is our favourite drug and its veryubiquity and everyday quality can make us fail torecognise that it is a major environmental hazard.This is acknowledged in numerous reports andnumerous daily incidents that are widely publicisedin our press. Acts of violence, road traffic accidents,fires, domestic disputes, domestic violence and publicdisorder are all familiar to us and yet in the past we havefailed to think about alcohol as a major public healthconcern. We also seem to have failed to recognise thatit is something which concerns the whole communityand on which the agencies of the community acting inconcert could make a very significant impact. It is notsimply a matter for the police or the health services.Recently the Scottish medical royal colleges andfaculties created ‘Scottish Health Action on AlcoholProblems’ (SHAAP) to raise awareness of alcoholrelated health problems and to promote solutionsbased on the best available evidence. The majorityof adults drink alcohol, and taken in moderation itcan of course be a source of pleasure, but it isalso a major cause of health, social andeconomic damage. Drinking to excess has becomethe norm. As a nation we cannot go on drinkingmore and more without increasing damage tohealth and other aspects of our communal life.Alcohol consumption in Scotland and the UKdoubled between 1960 and 2002 and we are nowone of the heaviest drinking countries in the world.While in other parts of Europe consumption isdropping, in Scotland it has shown an alarmingincrease. A recent report sponsored by WHO,Dr Bruce Ritson‘Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity’ (2003),emphasised that we couldn’t regard it simply asan ordinary product like pasta or porridge. It is adrug and as such has to be managed by public healthmeasures and not simply float in a free market.The increasing levels of alcohol related harm confirmthat in Scotland we have got this balance wrong.Alcohol is a contributory factor in over 60 diseases,affecting almost every organ in the body. In 2005/06there were over 39,000 admissions to generalhospitals in Scotland with alcohol related diagnosesand there has been a 7% rise in admissions over thelast five years. There is no doubt that there is aclear relationship between the amount we drink asa population and the level of health related harmand mortality that is evident in our community.It is not enough to say that we must target theheaviest drinkers and prevent them from getting intodifficulties or try to rescue them when it may be toolate; we require a population approach that addressesthe per capita consumption.Passive drinkingSome argue that this approach is nannyish andthat adults have a right to choose to drink as theyplease; but this does not recognise the consequencesfor those around in the family, at work, on the roads,etcetera. There was major concern about passivesmoking, and indeed this was one of the majorinfluences in the legislation, which removed tobacco13

Environmental Health Scotlandfrom public places. It dispelled the notion that it wassimply a matter of individual choice and thereforeone chose to take a substance that was known to behazardous. However, when it became apparent thatothers: employees, family and particularly children,were seriously affected by other people’s smokingthen the nanny state argument began to lose its gripon the imagination.The evidence for alcohol having an impact onothers is much, much stronger and yet we tend still tothink about it as being a matter of individual choice.Social harm related to alcohol, or if you like ‘passive’drinking, is estimated to cost £1.1 billion. There iswidespread public concern about alcohol misuse;a survey suggested that three out of five people seealcohol abuse as a serious issue, often quoting noise,disturbances in the street and violence as the sourceof their concern.The most recent European framework for alcoholpolicy stated ‘each member state has not only theright but also the obligation to provide a high level ofprotection to its citizens from alcohol related harm,particularly with regard to harm from others drinkingand harm to vulnerable groups such as children.’ Youngpeople are often unfairly depicted as the perpetratorsof alcohol problems rather than their victims.Alcohol is estimated to be a causal factor in 16%of cases of child abuse and neglect.The European Charter for Alcohol set down fiveethical principles and goals, one of which states‘all children and adolescents have the right to growup in an environment protected from the negativeconsequences of alcohol consumption and to the extentpossible from the provision of alcoholic beverages’.We are very far from adhering to this principlein Scotland.DeprivationAlcohol related deaths are not evenly distributedin the population and there is a clear associationbetween deprivation and alcohol related mortality,such that men living in the most deprived areasare seven times more likely to die an alcoholrelated death than those in the least deprived areas.Acute hospital admission rates with an alcoholdiagnosis are seven times higher in deprivation category7 than in category 1. It is also evident that thoseliving in the most deprived areas were twice as likelyto be admitted as a psychiatric in-patient with analcohol related diagnosis than those living in the leastdeprived areas.Why has the health burden increased in Scotland?Put simply it is because we are drinking more.The reasons for this are varied: some may be cultural14and others are pure economics. There has been afall in the relative price of alcohol; it is much moreavailable than it has ever been with new retail outlets,the removal of restrictions on alcohol sales and theindustry is ever more active in promoting its wares.Concerned about the public health crisis, SHAAPin common with other groups such as AlcoholFocus Scotland has advocated a variety of evidencebasedapproaches that they believe would reducethe level of alcohol related harm in the community.One of these approaches is to raise the priceand reduce availability. Alcohol is much moreaffordable: 62% than it was in 1980, and therehave been large increases in the amounts ofalcohol bought in shops, supermarkets andoff licences. At a UK level the increased tax on alcoholshould have an impact on consumption. The evidencefrom the rest of Europe has suggested that a 10%rise in UK alcohol prices would produce a 7% maleand 8.3% female decrease in cirrhosis mortality(Norstrom et al 2002).Recently there have been encouraging endeavoursat a national and community level to redress thisimbalance. The new Licensing Scotland Act shouldrestrict the capability of pubs and clubs to offerdrinks promotions at discounted prices and this willnow be extended to cover supermarkets, off licencesand corner shops. We hope that there will also be anagreement that will require alcohol to be displayedand sold separately from other goods, and thereshould be stricter enforcement of sales generally,with a particular focus on sales to under-age drinkers.Test purchasing has been a promising step forward inthis direction and should become a regular practice.Community perceptionIt has been my impression, borne out by recentsurveys, that the Scottish population is generallytired of the impact of alcohol on our communities,particularly in the city centres. Sixty per cent ofadults viewed alcohol as a serious issue, 46% saidthat people who were drunk or rowdy in public placeshad a serious effect on their own quality of life, andthis was most evident amongst people living in themost deprived areas. Those with responsibility forimproving health and the environment have a uniqueopportunity to collaborate with community groups toreduce the harm.There are measures which can be taken which haveproven effectiveness: taxation has been mentioned,drink driving legislation, the introduction of a lowerdrink-drive limit to 50mg per cent would bring usinto line with almost all other countries in Europe,and perhaps most important of all in this respectwith the introduction of random breath testing.

Environmental Health ScotlandGroups at local level• Municipal and regional councilsand autorities• Health authority: sepcialist services, primaryhealth care, public health, health promotion• Police• Legal/Judicial bodies• Licensing Authority• Educational (primary, secondary andteritary)• Youth services• Voluntary organisations, self-help groups• Womens groups• Consumer groups• Ethnic minority groups• Occupational and environmentalhealth organisations• City centre management• Employers' and trade union organisations• Recreational and municipal amenitiesleisure, recreations, tourism organisations• Highway and traffic authorities• ? Alcohol industryTable 1.Licensing controls such as hours of opening, densityof outlets, permitted age and server training all haveproven merits. Advertising and its effect on childrenis well recognised and the move to remove logos fromchildren’s football kits is an encouraging but a verysmall step in the right direction; a direction whichhas been taken much more positively in other parts ofEurope such as France.Community actionAs table 1 shows, there are many groups at a locallevel that can have a part in lowering the level ofalcohol related problems. It is immediately apparentthat there are in fact more resources than at first mightbe recognised. The problem is that they are poorlyco-ordinated and focused in their approach. The listshows that many of these are statutory bodies butthere are also many voluntary organisations that canhave a significant role in reducing the level of alcoholrelated harm.The creation of Licensing Forums is one small stepin this direction of getting a broader communityview of alcohol related hazards, and the work of theLicensing Standards Officers may well improve thepractice and behaviour in and around public houses.Many of these groups listed may not immediatelythink of themselves as having a role in formulatinga community alcohol policy and yet all of them canmake a very significant contribution.Questions and conclusionsLowering the level of alcohol related harm whilecontinuing to enjoy the benefits of alcohol remainsa major challenge to environmental health. Variouspuzzles come to mind such as the attraction ofdrunkenness; many people, particularly youngpeople, go out with the set purpose of getting drunk.The preoccupation at a national level with illicit drugswhen the harm caused by alcohol so far exceeds thedamage due to these substances. Are we concernedas a society about effective promotion of sales orthe effective promotion of health? I think we have aresponsibility to shift this balance.There is a puzzle as to why alcohol is more lethalin deprived areas and why we have consistentlyfavoured preventive measures that are less effective,such as education, as opposed to those which are moreeffective, such as reducing availability and improvingservices for the early detection and treatment ofalcohol problems. We need to invest more ineffective treatment services and in Scotland nowthere is encouraging evidence of a move towardsthese measures.Community action with appropriate engagementof a variety of stakeholders can effectively reducethe harmful use of alcohol. Community actions canincrease recognition of alcohol related harm ata community level; reduce its acceptability andbolster policy measures that will reduce the burden onsociety and the economy of alcohol related harm.BibliographyBabor et al (2003). Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity.Oxford University Press.Alcohol Statistics Scotland, ISD, 2007.SHAAP (2007). Alcohol Price, Policy and PublicHealth.SHAAP: www.shaap.org.uk.15

Environmental Health Scotlandthe law: interpretation, enforcement and performanceby John F CrawfordNearly two decades ago a REHIS PresidentialAddress included words to the effect that...‘when allother Council Departments have failed to resolve aproblem, it invariably falls to the Environmental HealthService to be asked to find a remedy...’. Such were thehalcyon days of 1975-96 when most Councils had aDirector of Environmental Health or similar post-holderreporting directly to the Chief Executive.Admittedly there were fewer of the issues associatedwith Freedom of Information legislation, and therewas a lot of support for the idea that anyone in chargeof a Council service should actually have workedin that service before being promoted, but theEnvironmental Health Officer (EHO) trainingtraditionally encouraged ‘thinking out of the box’long before the cliché became so popular withmodern managers.The writer’s first encounter with this concept wasin the late ’60s when complaints were received frommembers of the public assailed by golf balls whilepromenading in a public estate in Stevenston. Scrutinyof the limited legislation available offered little scopefor action so it was decided a site inspection wasneeded with the estate groundsman. On finding anindividual with a full set of clubs, driving shots ina reckless and random manner, a polite request todesist was met with the reply ‘if you can quoteme a by-law or other piece of statute whichprevents me from practising my sport here, I’ll moveon: otherwise I intend to carry on’. The groundsman,a sexagenarian around 18 stone (and a ‘doon-hamer’)simply lifted the bag of clubs and said ‘ye micht playwith that club son, but ye’ll nae play wi’ these ithers’and walked off. An amicable solution was then foundwhere the golfer got his clubs back in exchange for apromise to keep off the estate in future.Those of us who fondly recall the powers inthe Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 and theBurgh Police Acts welcomed the vagueness of somesections which were on many occasions sufficient towarn off miscreants long before more formal actionwas needed. Yet there are many documentedexamples where EHOs moved swiftly to use thesepowers when required.Vagueness however was not always a bonus. By thelate 1960s most new legislation was preceded byScottish Development Department (SDD) Circularswhich, like today, were designed to assist enforcementstaff in interpreting statute. The Sewage (Scotland)Act 1968 wasn’t triggered until 1972/73 and includeda potential re-definition of a ‘sewer’ (or so it wasintended). Until then, the sewer was maintained bythe Council and all associated (Buchan) traps andpipework on the carriageway and footpath was theresponsibility of the householder. This definition wasvery significant in coastal holiday resorts where therewere a lot of second homes, often used for summerlets with attendant over-crowding, damage, etc.The 1968 Act (according to the SDD Circular)required the Council to assume responsibility for allpipework and traps ‘as soon as these left thecurtilage of the building’ but one west coast BurghSurveyor wasn’t having it. His reading of the Actwas that, while it might have intended to have thisnew burden placed on the Council, it didn’t actuallysay so! Moreover, his Town Clerk was of the samemind.Picture the telephone conversation:‘Am I speaking to the Burgh Surveyor?’‘Yes.’‘Your Assistant has declined to instruct the clearanceof a choked Buchan trap outside my house at***** Street.’‘Good for him.’‘What do you mean? It’s on the footpath and youhave a statutory duty to clear the obstruction.’‘Who says?’‘The Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 says so. Itsets out a new definition of a sewer which nowincludes the Buchan trap.’‘That’s not my understanding of the Act.’‘You better know that I’ve read the SDD Circularwhich makes it clear that Buchan traps on thefootpath are now classed as part of the sewer.’‘SDD circulars aren’t law.’‘But they have a bearing on the Act.’‘No they don’t.’16

Environmental Health ScotlandIf they don’t have a bearing on the Act, why does theSDD issue them in the first place?’‘Search me. At the end of the day it will be for thecourts to decide what the Act means. On my readingthe Act isn’t clear and I’ve recommended that theCouncil adopts the status quo until there’s somecase law.’‘So in the meantime, I cannot enjoy my home becauseof the foul stench of overflowing sewage outsidemy bedroom window.’‘My staff report that yesterday afternoon there weretwo families of at least five members using thistwo-apartment house, sharing the kitchen and atoilet in the close. I’m not surprised the Buchan trapis choked.’‘What authority have you to enter these premiseswithout my permission?’‘Try the Public Health (Scotland) Act or the BurghPolice (Scotland) Acts. Yesterday morning yourholiday lets complained to us about overcrowding’.‘I’m going to instruct a local plumber to clear theblockage and send you the bill.’‘It won’t be paid without us issuing an official order.’‘I’ll sue you for the cost.’‘Good luck! Make sure you spell my name right onthe paperwork.’So until the 1975 reorganisation, that Burgh took noresponsibility for sewers other than those definedbefore the new Act was introduced!How would such action be judged in today’sculture of listening, caring, responsible Councils? Howmany of today’s (professional?) complainers receivemore than their statutory entitlement simply becauseof the fact that the fear of refusing their request willimmediately trigger a more formal investigation orimpact on in-house performance statistics?There’s no doubt that Councils need a rigorouscomplaints investigation scheme to ensure the higheststandards of service delivery but the fact that oneparticular individual (or service) has been the subjectof numerous complaints is only of significancewhen any of these complaints are upheld.Cleansing Officers are only too aware of the increasein complaints when new waste collection servicesare introduced. On evaluation, these complaints areoften not about how the service is delivered, but moreabout the Council’s new collection policy.Returning to the ‘thinking outside the box’ approach,the writer heard of a problem where an individualarrived at his disabled mother’s home every dayat 4.00pm to deposit copious amounts of food tofeed feral pigeons. Hundreds of birds awaited hisarrival, leaving their mark on neighbours’ cars,washing and footpaths, etc. Reasonable requests fromthe Environmental Health Service were vigorouslyrebuffed and it was thought little could be done.It then emerged that this individual was licensed bythe Council to drive a Private Hire Vehicle and as theHead of Service (fortuitously) was also responsiblefor the Licensing Service, it was rumoured thatthe Council might want to consider whether suchbehaviour was ‘fit and proper’ for a licensee.Having given the matter some thought, the driverdecided not to opt for a hearing in front of Councillorsand stopped feeding the birds.Would that every complaint could be resolved soeasily! Yet a cursory look at Statutory PerformanceIndicators suggests that there is a continuing traditionof EHOs finding informal and practical solutions formany of the complaints received.It is important, however, that EHOs, REHIS andthe Society of Chief Officers of EnvironmentalHealth in Scotland continue the practice of speakingout when new legislation is either needed or suggestedand that shortcomings in existing statutes are rectified.Anyone who has read Edna Robertson’s excellentbiography of James Muir Russell, Glasgow’s firstMedical Officer of Health in the late 19th centurywill see that he and his contemporaries were veryvocal in highlighting the need for legislativeintervention to improve public health. Russell was oftenberated by elected members for his views that there werelinks between poor standards of housing and ill-healthbut he pressed on and was eventually vindicated.While the message or advice from the EnvironmentalHealth Service might not be as ‘good’, ‘useful’, or‘helpful’ as colleagues and other recipients might wish,we owe it to Russell and our predecessors to continuetheir fine tradition.After all, it was once suggested we can trace ourlineage back to Moses: arguably the first public healthpractitioner, who banned the eating of pork...?John Crawford is a self-employed consultantcurrently retained on a part-time basis by theCaledonian Environment Centre as Technical Adviserand is a past President of the Institute. The viewsexpressed here are his alone.17

Environmental Health Scotlandby Bernard ForteathIFEH MattersThe 10th World Congress on Environmental Healthtook place in Brisbane, Australia from Sunday 11 untilFriday 16 May 2008. The Congress was organisedby the Australian Institute of Environmental Healthand held in the magnificent Brisbane Convention andExhibition Centre. Brisbane is a vibrant city located onAustralia’s east coast and it is known for its subtropicalclimate and friendly, relaxed outdoor lifestyle.When we were in Brisbane temperatures regularlytopped 30 o C although our visit coincided with theAustralian autumn!Almost one million people live in Brisbane and, forthe last decade, it has consistently been the fastestgrowing city in Australia. Brisbane City Council is thelargest local government in the Asia-Pacific region andalso one of the largest employers of EnvironmentalHealth Officers in Australia, employing over 70 EHOsin regulatory, policy, management and other roles.The Congress was preceded by meetings of the IFEHCouncil on Saturday and Sunday 10 and 11 May.These meetings were held in the Boardroomwithin the Webb Centre Building at GriffithsUniversity’s South Bank campus, a magnificentbuilding with panoramic views over the BrisbaneRiver.The first morning when the IFEH Council meets isnow given over to updates from memberorganisations, an interesting and informative sessionwhere members let each other know about theirproblems, their successes and their plans for thenext year. This always proves to be a challengingand thought-provoking session particularly whenyou hear about the problems of being an EHO inKenya or, for that matter, Zimbabwe. It certainly putsinto perspective any problems we may have herein Scotland.At the Council meeting it was agreed that wewould produce a quarterly newsletter, to be madeavailable via the website, in order that we can keepmember organisations more up-to-date with what ishappening in the Federation. I agreed to producethe first four editions of this publication, thereafterthe Council will seek a more permanent volunteer.This new venture will complement the existing twiceyearly magazine.There was also agreement in principle to theestablishment of a new individual membershipscheme which I have agreed to take forward with anumber of other Council members. This proposal willrequire a number of alterations to the Federation’sProcedures Manual as we hope to allow suitableprivate companies, with an interest in environmentalhealth, to take out, for example, corporate membership.I am being assisted in this work by colleagues fromAustralia, Canada and Sweden.The Council also agreed to set aside up to £4,000 overthe next 18 months in order to support the training ofvolunteer EHOs who will be available to aid disasteragencies who are normally the first responders toemergencies and disasters. Over the last two yearsthe Federation has been happy to help promote theinitiative to support international relief and developmentaid agencies - EHiDE - Environmental Health inDisasters and Emergencies. Hopefully EHO trainingwill take place later this year. Although the majorityof volunteers who are involved with EHiDE are fromthe UK and Ireland, the project is transferable acrossthe entire membership of IFEH. Australia alreadyhas a robust system, involving EHOs, for respondingto emergencies in the Asia-Pacific region and PastPresident, Colm Smyth, had very useful discussionswith the Australian Red Cross at the Congress.For ten years now the Federation’s magazine hasbeen edited by John Stirling. John decided recentlythat he felt it was time for someone else to take overthis important post. Hadrian Bonello from the MaltaAssociation of Environmental Health Officers hasbeen appointed to take over from John. In recognitionof his long association and support of the IFEH it wasannounced in Brisbane that John was to receive theEric Foskett Award. The presentation will take placelater this year.I mentioned earlier the problems being facedby many of our colleagues around the world who workunder intolerable conditions, none more so than inZimbabwe. The Council agreed to look at setting upan appeal, some time in the future when the currentregime has been removed, to assist with the trainingand education of EHOs in that country. From what welearn from colleagues working in Africa, the situation18

Environmental Health Scotlandwithin Zimbabwe is very serious and could be, if itwere not already, described as a disaster waiting tohappen. The whole infrastructure of the country willrequire an overhaul and we feel sure that our colleaguesworking in Environmental Health will need agreat deal of support both with the training andprofessional development of new and existing officers.I will keep members up-to-date with this initiativeas it develops.The Annual General Meeting of the Federation tookplace on Sunday 11 May and the main changes inpersonnel are that I take over as President fromColm Smyth, and Robert Bradbury from Canadabecomes President Elect. Both of us will hold thesepositions until September 2010. Ray Ellard remains asSecretary and Steve Cooper as Treasurer. As reportedearlier Hadrian Bonello is the new Editor.The 2008 World Congress Organising Committeeproduced a very successful programme of topicalenvironmental health issues with speakers comingfrom around the world. So interesting was theCongress programme that it was often difficult, withso many concurrent sessions, to decide which sessionto attend. During the Congress our hosts changed theirname to Environmental Health Australia.For the first time REHIS took a stand at the exhibitionheld in conjunction with the Congress and wewere all pleasantly surprised at how well we werereceived by the international environmental healthcommunity. Many more colleagues now appreciatethat Scotland has its own Institute and is quite separatefrom any other organisation in the UK. There werealso a lot of enquiries from young Australian EHOsabout the possibility of working in Scotland andalso interest in the courses REHIS has to offer. OurAustralian colleagues, in particular their President, DrJim Smith, and Chief Executive, Waikay Lau, went outof their way to welcome the REHIS delegation, andmy lasting memory of this Congress is not only of abeautiful country, but of the genuine warmth shownto visitors from overseas.Finally, I wish to place on record my thanks forthe hard work put into taking part in this Congressby our Chief Executive, Tom Bell. During theCongress he made a lot of useful contacts with othermember organisations and was much in demand onthe REHIS stand.***Scottish Food Safety Officers’ Registration Boardby Colin Wallace, Committee ChairmanAt the last meeting on 8 May 2008, Board membersheard from Kevin Freeman, Secretary that, followingthe most recent examination diet, there are now131 persons holding the Higher Certificate inFood Premises Inspection with four individualsregistered as trainees. A total of 57 persons alsohold the Higher Certificate in Food StandardsInspection, however, there are currently 23 individualsregistered as trainees. Board members are concernedabout the current number of individualsregistered as trainees and the stagnancy with regardto progression towards the qualification. There isfurther concern regarding the open-ended nature ofregistration and the Board agreed that the Secretarywould correspond with Chief Officers of registeredcandidates.There has been no further progression in relationto the provision of a Higher Certificate in OfficialControl. The main stumbling block remainsthe taught element of practical training. Board membersaccept that, whilst the Higher Certificate is not a meatinspection qualification, the meat hygiene trainingelement must be equivalent to that studied in theBSc and/or MSc in Environmental Health.The Secretary will pursue a number of avenueswith regard to the relevant academic practicaltraining being made available in a cost-effectivemanner and will also correspond with the ChiefOfficers of Environmental Health to gauge andassess support for the qualification. The Boardremains of the opinion that once the HigherCertificate in Official Control has been obtained,together with the Higher Certificates in FoodPremises and Food Standards Inspections, an‘overcoat’ diploma should be available and awarded.19

Environmental Health Scotlandby Tom Bell, Chief ExecutiveREHIS ANNual conference 2008 - ROUND-UPThis year’s Annual Conference was held inthe Menzies Belford Hotel, Edinburgh on 17 and 18April and, despite the mains gas supply to the hotelbeing cut off on safety grounds, which limited the service from the hotel kitchen and resulted in therelocation of overnight guests to the Radisson SASHotel, the event was hugely successful.The conference programme, under the theme‘Environmental Health and SustainableCommunities’, was organised by Robert Howe,the Institute’s President, (with the support of theConference Working Group and members of theInstitute’s staff) and was very well received by allparticipants, and a range of speakers presented manyexcellent papers on topics including sustainabilityand food, the new Scottish Code of Practice onfood law enforcement, E.coli O157 in Scotland,infection control in the local authority regulatedcare sector, community response to alcohol relatedproblems, obesity, priorities for health protectionin Scotland, public health nuisance, air qualityand climate change, and strategic environmentalassessment and environmental health. RobertHowe’s Presidential Address (see pages 5 to 7 of thisJournal) resulted in much press and media interestand much positive comment was made by delegates,guests and other speakers.Professor Peter Donnelly, the Deputy ChiefMedical Officer’s keynote presentation was verysupportive of the Environmental Health Profession’scontribution to the Scottish Government’s publichealth agenda and was also very well receivedby delegates.Jeff Roxburgh and Donna McIntosh, both BSc(Hons) Environmental Health degree course studentsat the University of Strathclyde, presented wellresearchedand informative papers on the potentialrisk to human health from consumption of lasalocidresidues in eggs and on the littering habits andperceptions of young adults respectively. Bothpapers were presented in a confident and informedmanner and the Institute is grateful to Jeff and Donnafor taking time out to present their papers during abusy time in which they were preparing for theirfinal year examinations.The conference dinner, held on the Wednesdayevening, provided the social highlight of the conferenceand it proved to be a hugely enjoyable event withafter-dinner speaker, Tommy Smith, drawing muchlaughter and amusement from those in attendance.Stewart Maxwell MSP, Minister for Communitiesand Sport, Ann Marie Part and Alan Johnson(all Honorary Vice-Presidents of the Institute) werethe President’s guests of honour.The Institute acknowledges the support of Highfield.co.uk limited, the Food Standards Agency Scotlandand all the exhibitors. Robert Howe has asked me,on his behalf, to thank the speakers who all agreed tothe donation of a sum of money to the ScotlandChikwawa (Malawi) Health Initiative in lieu ofspeakers’ gifts. Robert also takes this opportunityto thank Tommy Smith who also donated hisafter-dinner speaker’s fee to the Scotland Chikwawa(Malawi) Health Initiative and to all who purchasedraffle tickets for this very worthwhile cause.The planning for next year’s annual conferencehas already commenced and an announcement ondates and venue will be made in the autumn.Richard Wakeford of the Scottish Governmentresponds to a delegate’s question.Donna McIntosh holds the attention of delegates.20

Environmental Health ScotlandANNual conferenceProfessor Peter Donnelly.Jim Thomson.Dr Tara Beattie on Strathclyde University’s stand.Jayne Sprenger on the Highfield stand.Donna McIntosh.Jeff Roxburgh.21

Environmental Health Scotlandby J Barrie SheardNational Service Reminiscences ProjectAt the kind invitation of your Chief Executive I havebeen asked to write a short article relating to the projectI am currently running from my home in Derbyshirein England.Known as the National Service Reminiscences Projectit revolves around those Environmental HealthOfficers (EHOs) who, like myself, had to undertaketwo years of National Service immediately we hadqualified as either a Sanitary Inspector or Public HealthInspector in the period 1948 until 1962. My wish is tobring together reminiscences and memories of thoseof us who have been retired for a number of yearsand to create a database of all these. The whole ideastarted when I was privileged to be invited to theheadquarters of the CIEH in London to officially receivefrom the then President, Alan Higgins, and the thenChairperson, Janet Szlamp, my 50 years’ continuousmembership certificate.It so happened that within that room I foundseveral 50 year recipients like myself (including myold Squad Corporal - Corporal Denis Pickles fromthe RAMC Army School of Health at Mytchett)who had spent their two years in the RAMC. Thisgot my grey matter working overtime and the resultwas the Project. Starting out in a very small way withjust ten ‘old soldiers’ getting in touch has, at the timeof writing this article, risen to a staggering 43 retiredEHOs, 42 of them ‘old soldiers’ like me who had allbeen Hygiene Assistants within the RAMC and oneRAF person who was in the equivalent trade calleda Hygienist.They do say ‘from little acorns an oak tree can grow’;whilst we shall never get that large it has pleased meno end to find they all want to tell their story:1. Firstly, by putting in writing, a summary sheet,the basic outline of their service. For example -dates, service number, rank and post achieved,postings in and around the UK and abroad.2. Secondly, a short story on another sheet, tellingof some of the highs and lows of their serviceparticularly with Environmental Health in mindbut not, of course, without the other things thatmade up their service, remembering that sometimesthe lows can be just as interesting as thegood times.My job is acting as a sort of editor and gettingthe contributions in some sort of relevant order.In addition, as we are in the 21st century with all its‘IT’ abilities, we have certainly eased matters withwell over 75% of the contributors having accessto e-mail facilities which has allowed quick andeasy communication.Motorcycle training course for RAMC staff - 1956.Since starting way back in June and July of lastyear, an unasked development has been the collectingtogether of many black and white photos of themen in their squad, in their uniform, men partakingin barrack room duties and, more importantly, on anarmy exercise or on duty. This has certainly helpedbring the project to life and will form a good part ofthe final project.May I take this opportunity of asking if there areany retired EHOs who are members of REHIS andwho did their National Service either before or afterqualifying to please get in touch with me? Details aregiven below of how to contact me and, in conclusion,may I also say if you should know of a colleague thatI could also write to, please let me know and I willsend them an invitation to participate.Contact detailsJ Barrie Sheard, FCIEH, ex-Sergeant 23290615 RAMC.Service from March 1956 to February 1958.Postal address: Holden House, 1 Canal Bank, Shardlow,Derbyshire, DE72 2GL.E-Mail: jbhygiene@supanet.comTelephone: 01332 79237922

Environmental Health ScotlandHealth protection scotland - newsby Rod House, Consultant in Environmental Health, Health Protection ScotlandAppointment of HPS DirectorThe selection process to appoint a successor to TimBrett, who retired as Director last year, has beencompleted and an announcement is imminent.Food Surveillance - Re-launch of FSS UK WebsiteThe FSS UK website has been re-launched to offerpartner authorities additional features to help in fullyutilising this central resource.The FSS UK website enables sample data to becompared at a local, regional and national basis.To reflect users’ feedback the website has focusedon improving the usability of the website searchfacility by offering pre-defined food sample queries.One of the standard queries relates to national surveysand provides details of all related samples in a reportformat. Certain queries generate a graphical outputthat details the summary data in relation to the definedfood categories.The Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison CommitteeFood Standards Sub-Committee has invited theLocal Food Liaison Groups to identify possiblequeries they would wish to have preset. The FSS UKteam wishes to encourage individual users to alsoprovide further suggestions for standard queriesto HPS’s FSS UK team.Advice and GuidanceVTEC Guidance - HPS has an Expert Group includingenvironmental health representation, currentlyupdating existing guidance. Draft guidance was issuedfor consultation in May 2008 with the aim of finalpublication in June 2008.Guidance on Management of Legionella Outbreaksand Clusters in the Community - The expertgroup has now finished its initial work and draftguidance was issued in May for external consultation.Following consideration of stakeholders’ responses,the final document will be published and issued to allstakeholders in September.Operational Support and AdviceI would like to take this opportunity to remindcolleagues that HPS offers an operational supportand advice service to all key stakeholders includingEnvironmental Health colleagues. Where relevant,we can provide expert advice and analysis over awide range of issues including health effects ofcontaminants in land, water and air, together withsurveillance data and interpretation relating to allcommunicable disease.In addition to the above, there is also a wide rangeof data and advice on our HPS website whichhas a search engine and can be accessed onwww.hps.scot.nhs.uk.Education and TrainingIt is intended to organise another day at HPS forStudent Environmental Health Officers and it isanticipated that this will take place in August. HPSwill liaise directly with the REHIS office andarrangements will be issued to all students nearerthis time.***CHARITY CLIMB FOR WATERAIDJohn Stirling is expected to raise over £500 forWaterAid (an international charity whose missionis to overcome poverty by enabling the world’spoorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitationand hygiene education) after he and a team ofhill-walking friends recently climbed to the top ofThe Merrick, an 843 metre mountain near the townof Newton Stewart in south-west Scotland.Robert Howe, President of the Institute, congratulatedJohn and his team on the success of this fund-raisinginitiative.For further information on WaterAid, visitwww.wateraid.org.John, in his REHIS T-shirt,with his team atop The Merrick.23

Environmental Health ScotlandREHIS COMMUNITY TRAINING -FOOD HYGIENE AND HEALTH AND SAFETY COURSESby Ian McGruther, Training Adviser (Food Hygiene and Health and Safety)IntroductionMy main role as Training Adviser is to monitorthe delivery of Food Safety, Health and Safety andHACCP courses for which REHIS is the AwardingBody. I visit REHIS training centres, either fullyor provisionally approved, throughout Scotland tocheck the quality and content of course deliveryagainst the requirements laid out in course syllabusesand regulations.Of equal importance is my role as an adviser,both to REHIS and to the training centres. Theadviser role is designed to give advice and support tocentres and presenters in a helpful and constructivemanner. This approach achieves changes andimprovements to course presentations (wherenecessary), all of which are aimed towards better trainingand improved customer and employee safety.The Institute issued almost 45,000 certificateslast year but the numbers do not tell the whole story.What they do not illustrate is the commitment andhard work by training centres and course presenterswhich results in training courses which make asignificant impact on those who attend. This, I amsure, makes a positive difference in the workplace andin the community.I have observed countless examples of innovativeand engaging training methods which the courseparticipants find helpful, enjoyable and are entirelyrelevant to their workplace activities.Having said that, there are centres which I visit wherethe standard of course delivery is not at the requiredlevel. In these cases, advice is given and follow-upvisits are arranged to monitor compliance and to provideadditional support if required.Successful and effective courses are usually thosewhere the presenters have been involved in detailedpreparation prior to delivery of the course material.In these cases, my experience suggests that thecourse is both technically correct and contains aneffective range of training methods and aids (groupwork, class activities, demonstrations, use of videosand the like). I always encourage centres (especiallynew centres) to contact me prior to finalising theircourse material in order to discuss the variouscomponents of the presentation with a view tomaximising the impact on those who attend.The course content is designed to be generic in nature.Having said that, presenters are encouraged to ‘tailor’course material to suit the needs of course participants.This can be achieved without compromising therequirements to deliver all syllabus objectives but ina manner which is relevant to the work activity andexperience of those who attend.The most significant course (in terms of numbers ofcourses and students) continues to be the ElementaryFood Hygiene Course. Efforts to increase the uptakeof Health and Safety and HACCP courses continueand it is hoped that, in future, training activity in theseareas will increase.Course Development by CentresA feature of good course presentation is regularreview, change and update of course material.Any change should take account of the needs of thecourse participants and industry. The presenter shouldbe asking the following questions:a) Is the material up to date?b) Is the material meeting the needs of thosewho attend?c) Are the training methods impacting positively onthe students?d) Is the training method likely to create improvementsin work practice?Many centres have a number of presenters approvedto deliver courses. In these circumstances regularmeetings with all presenters is advisable to ensurethat all course material is up-to-date, relevantand consistent.The Role of REHISThe role of the awarding body is vital. My role astraining adviser is primarily designed to be helpfuland supportive. I would encourage centres to take fulladvantage of the advice and guidance available bycontacting me to discuss any problems and concerns.REHIS hosts an annual training update eventwhich is designed to include relevant and topicalinformation, the content of which is often influencedby the trainers themselves.Earlier in 2008, the first community trainingroadshows were held in Dundee, Aberdeen, Falkirk24

Environmental Health Scotlandand Glasgow. These events were designed to giveinformation to trainers but were also a very usefulnetworking forum where trainers (often working inisolation) were able to talk to REHIS staff and toeach other.REHIS ExaminersREHIS has a network of approved examinersfor Intermediate and Advanced level courses.Examiners are encouraged to provide feedback to theInstitute concerning any trends which may emergeduring the marking process. I fully understand thatthe relationship between examination results andstandards of training must be interpreted with somecaution. These trends can provide indications wheretraining can be changed or improved. In relevantcases, this information is fed back to centres foradvice and action where necessary.The Institute has always encouraged feedback fromcentres and course presenters, both concerning theby Tom Bell, Chief Executive***Gerry Davis Retirescourse content and examination format. This exchangeof views can help to influence and shape our courseand examination content to make sure that thetraining and assessment are as relevant as possible forthose who attend REHIS courses.ConclusionTraining courses and method of delivery and post-courseassessment are, quite rightly, under scrutiny.It is only correct, therefore, that the content of thecourses and methods of training are reviewedand assessed regularly to ensure that they are ‘fitfor purpose’.REHIS, as the main awarding body in Scotland, fullyrecognises this. The view of the Institute is that thebest way to achieve the most effective methods oftraining for industry is to work in harmony withour training centres and course presenters, and withall partners, towards that end.Gerry Davis, REHIS PR and Media Adviser.In October 2002 the Institute appointed GerryDavis of Davis Media, a company based in Aberdeen,to act as its Public Relations and Media Adviser.After providing an excellent service over the pastsix years, Gerry has decided that the time is right forhim to retire when his current contract expires at theend of September.Retained on a one day per month basis, Gerry, and hisson, Paul, have been very successful in pro-activelyheightening and developing the Institute’s mediaprofile on a wide range of issues and have also coveredAnnual Conferences and the Annual Presentationof Awards Ceremonies.Born and bred in Glasgow, Gerry was a pharmacygraduate of Strathclyde University (when it was stillThe Royal College of Science and Technology), andwas a professional actor for four years and evenappeared in two episodes of Granada Television’s‘Crossroads’! Over the course of 22 years intelevision, radio and newspapers, Gerry developeda reputation as one of Scotland’s most highlyregarded broadcasters and journalists. His featuresand documentaries, several of them award winners,have been seen and heard on Channel 4, ITV, BBCRadio 4, BBC Radio Scotland, BFBS, The Independent,The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Heraldand a variety of specialist trade publications.Gerry also holds ‘Reporter of the Year’ and ‘RadioPresenter of the Year’ awards.Since the mid 1980s, Gerry has concentrated onpublic relations, media training, emergency mediaresponse and crisis management.The Institute has been privileged to receive Gerry’sservices and wishes him well for the future.25

Environmental Health ScotlandREHIS COMMUNITY TRAININg - FOOD AND HEALTH COURSESby Dr Jane Bunting, Training Adviser (Food and Health)This is the first time I have written for the Journal,so I’ll begin by explaining my role within REHIS. Iam the Training Adviser for food and health, whichtakes me all over Scotland visiting our extensivenetwork of Approved Training Centres, with the taskof ensuring that our Elementary Food and Healthcourses are run to the appropriate standard andmeet the requirements of the course regulations andsyllabus. As well as the quality control and evaluationelement of my role, I also provide support andadvice to our registered trainers.Given current public health issues in Scotland, trainingin food and health has never been more important.The Scottish Diet Action Plan identified a gap inthe nutrition training of caterers and recommendedthat catering staff should be better informed aboutnutrition and that basic training in food, nutritionand health should be a priority. This led to thedevelopment of the Elementary Food and HealthCourse, with the aim of providing a basic training infood, nutrition and health for those involved in foodpreparation. It was developed in conjunction withthe Food Standards Agency Scotland, the ScottishExecutive, the healthyliving award, CommunityFood and Health Scotland, and NHS Health Scotland,and forms part of a number of initiatives to improveScotland’s health and diet. The course covers basicnutrition and eating for health, and focuses on therelationship between food and well-being and how tomake appropriate dietary changes.In more detail, the short six hour course covers therelationship between food and health and is aimed ata wide range of people and settings such as caterers,health care staff, teachers, staff canteens, communitygroups, cafés, schools and nurseries. In short, thiscourse is designed for anyone working with, or withan interest in food. The course consists of six modules,these are:• A General Introduction• The Function of Food• Energy Measures and Influences on Food Intake• Eating for Health - Food and Well-Being• Putting It All Together - Action Planning• Revision and Exam.There are now 122 Approved Centres and over4,000 certificates have been issued. Training centresare varied and include local authorities, colleges,universities, schools, the NHS, HM prison serviceand commercial training companies. The coursehas also proven successful in community food andhealth training, including vulnerable groups such asolder people, low-income groups, the homeless andthose with learning difficulties.As well as the Elementary Food and Health Course,REHIS also jointly accredits a Nutrition Skills courserun by Foodwise Training. As well as nutritiontheory, this course also includes practical cookerysessions and group work and teaching skills, withthe aim of training participants with the skills to beable to carry out a range of activities such asplanning, delivering and evaluating cookery courses,and healthy eating workshops. This course is aimed atanyone with an interest in food and health, for example,nursery and school staff, community workers andcare staff. The course is delivered over 15 weeks,for three hours per week, in addition to a sixweek placement.The Nutrition Skills course has successfully trainedstaff from schools across West Lothian who havenow gone on to run healthy eating and cookingworkshops for children and parents in their schoolsand community centres. For more information see thearticle on page 28.Overall, feedback from the REHIS Food and Healthcourses is positive and encouraging, both fromtrainers and participants. Food and health issues are atan all time high on the political agenda, and improvingtraining in nutrition, food and health at all levels is animportant element of the difficult task of improvingthe nation’s health. REHIS and its network ofdedicated trainers must, therefore, strive to continuedelivering quality training in food and health.For more information onthe Elementary Food andHealth Course,contact the REHIS office on0131 225 5444 or at training@rehis.com.26

Environmental Health ScotlandScottish Pollution Control Co-ordinating Committeeby John Stirling, Secretary and REHIS representativeThe last meeting of the Committee heard from thelocal liaison groups that the areas of pollution controlcurrently giving cause for concern were nuisancecaused by barking dogs, funding for air qualityand being able to fulfil local authority statutoryduties, how the radioactive regulations were goingto impact on contaminated land issues and planningapplications, and biomass boilers in relation toair quality issues, PM 10and 2.5and effects onhuman health.One member indicated that funding within theirlocal authority had seen a 25% cut in the contaminatedland budget and a 37.5% cut in the night time noisebudget, and reported that these Councils showed noappreciation that it was statutory duties that werebeing cut.The Committee was asked to consider possiblenuisance from the use of mosquito sonic devices.The experience of one member was that it hadhelped to restrict vandalism; it was also reported thattests on them found that they met the requirements ofthe Noise at Work Regulations.In Andrew Taylor’s (Scottish Government) updateon air quality, he explained that the current grantarrangements are being abolished, with ring fencingbeing removed. The Committee agreed that thiswas an ideal situation. The Technical Guidance willbe out for consultation by the end of April withimplementation by the end of 2008. Andrew reportedthat research into PM 10led by AEA Technologywas progressing with regards to a range of boilersize and type. The research guidance will be madeavailable to local authorities for use in planningapplications. Once again, concern was raised inrespect of the introduction of biomass boilers intoareas where air quality problems existed. A call wasmade to strengthen the arrangements for installationof domestic biomass boilers although it was indicatedthat it was the larger industrial ones that could giverise to problems.Dr Iain Beverland (Strathclyde University) hadindicated to the Committee that the Universitywished to disseminate their findings of the ongoingresearch into air pollution to professional colleagues;this was received most positively with a request thatthe Committee be kept appraised of progress with thefindings to be displayed on the REHIS website.Duncan McNab (Scottish Government) indicatedto the meeting that the Scottish Government wasencouraging local authorities to heighten theprofile of anti-social behaviour noise and madea plea for local authorities to continue to makestatistical returns, this data being essential for policydevelopment. Duncan could also report that the planningconsultation document on permitted developmentfor micro-renewables will be circulated for comment.He concluded by indicating that the review of thenoise problems associated with the smoking banwould be completed by the end of March.Discussion centred on the involvement of LicensingStandards Officers in various aspects of environmentalhealth work which, of course, could lead to duplicationof work, the aim being for one officer to deal withcontrol.Martin Valenti (SEPA) reported that good progresswas being made with the production of the NoiseAction Plans; further information could be gainedfrom the website. He also reported that PAN56 wasbeing reviewed.Anthony Carson spoke to his report on theconsultation on contaminated land aimed atdeveloping the best means of improving the coordinationof contaminated land in Scotland.Prior to a very full discussion on the subject, JohnStirling reported that the Membership, Educationand Training Committee of REHIS had given thego-ahead to Nicola Paton and Helen Barron toinvestigate the possibilities of vocational training andqualifications for contaminated land professionals.The Committee agreed that the way forward wasto initiate a series of workshops on specific topicsto address the concerns of those officers involvedin this area of our work. It was suggested thatthe first workshop should focus on radioactivecontaminated land. The Committee agreed thatScottish Government involvement through support,participation and advice is paramount and agreedthat members of SPCCC should seek a meetingwith Bob Cuthbertson (Scottish Government) inorder to progress this matter expeditiously.27

Environmental Health Scotlandnutrition skills joint award now on the menuby Graham Walker, Director of TrainingThis new Joint Award was developed by the Institutein partnership with Foodwise, an Approved REHISTraining Centre, to teach participants everythingthey need to know about preparing and deliveringhealthy cooking classes and workshops to childrenand adults. The intensive course covers nutritionand food hygiene, group work and teaching skills,community development and practical cookery,participatory appraisal techniques, and participantsmust complete a placement that covers planning,recruiting, delivering and evaluating a six weekcooking skills course to parents and children. It isideal for school and nursery staff, community workersand care staff.The course consists of three modules at differentlevels.Nutrition Skills Level One - 21 hours (7 x 3 hoursessions) of nutrition covering the Eatwell Plate,labelling, energy balance, budgeting, menu planning,weight management and physical activity.Nutrition Skills Level Two - 24 hours (6 x 3 hoursplus REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene Certificate)includes group work and teaching skills, lesson planning,dealing with problems, community development,practical cookery and preparation for placement.Nutrition Skills Level Three - The placement involvesplanning, preparing, facilitating and evaluating 6 x2 hour practical cookery sessions plus a feedbacksession.Students are required to put together a portfoliowith evidence of their placement, homework andexercises completed in class. These portfolios are thenassessed by the tutor.Key Objectives• Introduction to the Eatwell Plate model• Importance of physical activity• Factors which affect food intake• Factors affecting oral health• Identifying foods high in fat and sugar• Effects of fat and salt on health• Healthy eating on a budget• Importance of fluids• Menu planning• Group teaching skills• Cooking skills• Elementary Food Hygiene• Community development• Lesson planning• Evaluation methodsCourse DeliveryThe course is delivered over 15 weeks for threehours per week with about one hour of homeworkeach week. It also involves a six week placement.Delegates are issued with handouts and must compilea portfolio which is assessed at the end of the course.The First CourseThe Joint Award got off to a good start with aninitiative supported by West Lothian Council’sDepartment of Education. The course was deliveredby Foodwise Training to West Lothian schools staffand the successful candidates were awarded theircertificates at a ceremony at St Margaret’s Academyin Livingston recently.Moira Niven, West Lothian Council’s Head ofEducation (Development), and Robert Howe, Presidentof REHIS, presented the awards.The initiative meets the recommendations for theHungry for Success Challenge and also fulfilselements of the Healthy Schools Model as well asdeveloping the four capacities of a Curriculumfor Excellence.The initiative was praised by Richard LochheadMSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and theEnvironment, who said: “This sounds exactly like thekind of idea we are hoping will come forward, whichblends developing children’s awareness of food andnutrition, as well as giving them the basic skills toprepare food and gets their parents involved so thatthe learning is carried into the home”.28

Environmental Health ScotlandRobert Howe, REHIS President, Moira Niven, WLC Head of Education (Development) andGraham Walker, REHIS Director of Training at the presentation with the course delegates.Photograph courtesy of Eddie Anderson.A number of initiatives have already sprung from thecourse, including: cooking classes specifically forparents and children working together, and for thosewith additional support needs; a range of healthyeating workshops such as the healthy lunch boxscheme; and links with schemes such as foodco-operatives.This initiative targets hard-to-reach members ofdisadvantaged communities who can often be thosemost in need of support and advice. Tutors are trainedto work with participants at their level and to beunderstanding of the barriers people face in pursuinga healthy lifestyle. It’s not just about learning to cook,it’s about being part of a supportive group wheremembers can identify these difficulties and exploreways of overcoming them.The benefits of this type of initiative are numerous;it has the potential to contribute greatly to theprevention of obesity both in adults and children.By working with other partners including the ActiveSchools Co-ordinators, specifically tailored cooking andphysical activity sessions around weight managementcan be developed.***REHIS welcomes reportsof interesting court casesfor publication inEnvironmental Health Scotland.REHIS/SFSORBProfessional Examinations4, 5 and 6 November 2008Ramada JarvisMount Royal Hotel, Edinburgh29

Environmental Health Scotlandby Jill Buchan, Communications OfficerFOOD STANDARDS AGENCY SCOTLAND NEWSFishing Vessel Hygiene Inspection TrainingThe Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS) ran aseries of courses on fishing vessel hygiene inspectionsearlier this year.There is a requirement to inspect fishing vesselsunder the Food Law Code of Practice and thesefour courses, held in Inverness, Arbroath, Troonand Haddington, were designed to help enforcementofficers undertake safe hygiene inspections offishing vessels, encourage safe working practiceand raise awareness of potential difficulties workingin this sector.The course was constructed by FSAS and the ScottishFish Hygiene Working Group (SFHWG) alongsidethe training provider, the Fish Industry TrainingAssociation Ltd.The two-day session covered elements including:health and safety, required protective equipment,access issues and potential hazards, practicaldemonstrations and good practice, as well asconsideration of the Seafish Responsible FishingScheme and a workshop to discuss next steps for localauthorities and their specific requirements.Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System(LAEMS)LAEMS will replace the current monitoring systemused to report local authority food and feedlaw enforcement activities to the FoodStandards Agency.LAEMS is a web-based system to which localauthorities will be able to upload data generatedfrom their local systems, on which they record dataon food and feed law enforcement activities.Following introductory training in April this year,there will be more sessions held at the beginningof next year for those using the system.National Food Safety WeekThe Food Standards Agency launched GermWatchduring Food Safety Week (FSW) in June this year.The Agency was the lead partner for FSW, whichran from 9-13 June. GermWatch was developedfollowing research with local authorities, consumersand schools and is the overarching brand for theFSA’s communication with consumers aboutfood safety.The ‘4 Cs’ (cleaning, cooking, chilling and avoidingcross-contamination) will continue to remain afocus for GermWatch. Of these, according to thisresearch, cross-contamination remains the mostconfusing issue.The Agency has produced a raft of publicitymaterials, including activity sheets for teachers.Food Colours and Children’s BehaviourAt its April meeting, the FSA Board discussed thepossible effects of certain food colours on children’sbehaviour and agreed advice to Ministers to helpinform the UK’s negotiating position in Europe onthe issue.The six colours are: Sunset yellow (E110), Quinolineyellow (E104); Carmoisine (E122), Allura red (E129),Tartrazine (E102) and Ponceau 4R (E124). Theseadditives give colour to foods but nothing else.This discussion took place following the publicationlast September of research into these colours bySouthampton University, and in light of the reviewof this work by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), which was published in March.The Board agreed to advise UK Ministers that thereshould be voluntary action by manufacturers toremove these colours by 2009. In addition, thereshould be work to phase them out in food and drinkin the European Union (EU) over a specified period.Current Agency advice for consumers is that parentsof children showing signs of hyperactivity are advisedthat cutting certain artificial colours from their dietsmight have some beneficial effects.The Agency’s stance is proportionate, and based onthe best available science. However, there are manyfactors associated with hyperactive behaviour inchildren other than their diet.The Board also requested that FSA advice issimplified and strengthened as much as possible.The preservative sodium benzoate was also consideredin the Southampton study. Use of this additive ismainly restricted to soft drinks. The Board decidedthat advice to Ministers and consumers should focus onthe colours used in the study, as the primary functionof sodium benzoate is as a preservative.UK Ministers will now discuss with otherGovernment departments to help inform thenegotiating position in Europe on this issue.30

Environmental Health ScotlandPublic Health and Housing Update Courseby Andrew McPherson, Chairman, Public Health and Housing Working GroupThe Public Health and Housing Update Course 2008was presented in Edinburgh on 13 and 14 May.Due to the significant changes occurring in both thehousing and public health fields there appeared to beno better time to deliver this event and, in order tofully address all the major issues, the course was splitinto two days allowing presentations from a diverserange of speakers.The first day concentrated on the role ofEnvironmental Health Officers in public health.The morning session was opened by AlistairThomson, REHIS’s spokesperson on public healthissues. The first speaker was the ever popular DrHarry Burns, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer,who delivered a typically impressive presentationwhich directly related the health of an individual tothe quality of their living environment. This messagewas further elaborated through a presentation byLorraine Tulloch from the Scottish Governmentwho is currently a Project Manager working on theStrategic Framework for Environment and Health.The simple message from Lorraine was that thereis still a considerable level of work to be done withinthis area and it was encouraging to recognise thatenvironmental health as a profession was playinga significant role. The practical application ofenvironmental health in a public health context wasdemonstrated through the next two presentations.John Arthur from Inverclyde Council discussed howthe profession was improving the standard of localcommunities within Inverclyde, and Evonne Tennantfrom East Dunbartonshire Council demonstratedthat environmental health was central to thelocal authority’s public health and communityplanning agenda.The afternoon session started with an update fromLucy Smith who is currently part of the Public HealthBill Team within the Scottish Government. Lucy wasable to provide the delegates with an update on thecurrent progress of the Public Health Bill and thelikely implementation date of the most significantparts. Although it was encouraging that thereis to be an expansion of the nuisance provisions andmeasures introduced to control the use of sunbeds,there was some concern expressed as to thetimescales for their introduction as it is likely thatthese measures will not become statute until late2009. Further discussion on the new nuisanceconditions and the use of fixed penalty notices fornon-compliance with public health notices wasprovided through the presentation of Stuart Grahamof the City of Edinburgh Council. In summary,Stuart welcomed the proposed new provisionsand, in particular, was confident that the fixedpenalty option was one which could provide a quickand effective alternative to prosecution. The finalsession of the day provided presentations from IanStrachan of the Scottish Government who providedan update on the current and proposed animal welfarelegislation and, finally, Bill Byers of Scottish Water.Bill provided some clarification of Scottish Water’sinvolvement with issues relative to environmentalhealth, with particular reference to defective sewers,pumping stations, SUDS and water to waste.Overall, one of the main messages from the firstday was that the quality of an individual’s healthcould be directly related to the quality of their livingenvironment. It was appropriate therefore that thesecond day would concentrate primarily on housingmatters. An overview of the main factors of thenew Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 was provided byspeakers from Communities Scotland. Ian Muirheadprovided details on the new enforcement powersavailable through the new legislation. Thisincluded reference to Housing Renewal Areas andMaintenance Orders. It was accepted by Ian that thesepowers would require a different approach by localauthorities and that the Scottish Government expectedthat, initially, a degree of caution would be exercised,particularly with the Maintenance Orders, to ensure asuccessful implementation and adoption of the newpowers. Ian also provided further details on the newrequirements of the Tolerable Standard (electricalsafety and insulation) and gave practical guidanceon what would be required for a property to meetthese standards. David Bookbinder of CommunitiesScotland then provided clarification on the Schemeof Assistance and what this new approach willrequire of local authorities. Again, it was acceptedby David that a different approach would be requiredwithin this area but that it also provided greaterflexibility on how local authorities could assistwith housing issues. The conclusion to the morningsession covered the subject of gypsy travellers.The problems experienced by local authoritieswere summarised by Andrew Lamb of AberdeenCity Council and suggestions on how to resolvethese issues were given by Joan Robertson of31

Environmental Health ScotlandGrampian Fire and Rescue. Joan had previouslybeen employed as a Diversity Officer withinGrampian Police and had considerableexperience in dealing with the travellingcommunity. In short, Joan suggested that the vastmajority of problems were caused by a small minorityof gypsy travellers and urged local authorities to workwith the gypsy community as a whole to resolveproblems; although she did concede that there wasno easy solution to the variety of problems which areencountered.The afternoon session of the final day provided anopportunity for all groups involved in LandlordRegistration to have their say. Alison Byrne fromthe Scottish Government provided clarification onsome areas of concern and also advised that there wasto be a review of the legislation this year. The localauthority view was provided by Ian Blair of InverclydeCouncil, and John Blackwood from the ScottishAssociation of Landlords was able to provide asummary of how the landlords themselves viewedthe new legislation. In summary, John was fullysupportive of the registration scheme but highlightedthe teething problems which had affected bothlocal authorities and landlords at the start. The finalsession of the course covered the issue of migrantworkers. Tom McCrossan of the Gangmasters LicensingAuthority (GLA) provided an overview of the roleof the GLA. Essentially, the main purpose of theGLA is to ensure the welfare of workers, primarilymigrant workers. At present the GLA only hasauthority over those persons employed within thefood industry, although there is a suggestion thattheir remit will be extended to include other workingenvironments and that they will be included underthe umbrella of the Health and Safety Executive.In conclusion, Tom encouraged all local authoritiesto work closely with the GLA where they hadconcerns over the welfare of migrant workers. Apractical application of this was demonstrated bythe final speaker of the day - Craig Easson of AngusCouncil. Craig covered the investigation undertakenfollowing a fatality of a migrant worker within acaravan in April 2007, and demonstrated the levelof partnership working required to ensure suitableand safe living standards are provided for migrantworkers. In addition, he also recommended that, toaddress the problems of living accommodation forseasonal workers, local authorities should apply for anexemption to ensure that caravans located on farmland and used by farm workers come under the termsof the Caravan Sites and Control of DevelopmentAct 1960, and will therefore require to be licensed.In conclusion, the two day course provided the delegateswith details of new and topical legislation and practicalapplications of how they could be implemented.The feedback received from those who attended hasbeen very positive and, in light of this, the event isscheduled to return in spring 2010. By this time theprovisions of the new Public Health Bill and Housing(Scotland) Act will have been implemented andit is anticipated that this will once again provide themain schedule for the day(s). Finally, should anyperson wish a copy of any of the presentationsgiven during this year’s event, they are available bycontacting Kevin Freeman at the REHIS office.***REHIS AnnualPresentation of Awardswill take place on the evening ofWednesday 19 November 2008Venue to be announcedREHIS Annual General Meetingwill take place on the afternoonof Thursday 20 November 2008Venue to be announced32

Environmental Health ScotlandScottish Food Enforcement Liaison CommitteeSurvey SF12: MSG in food fromChinese takeaways and restaurantsby Paul Bradley, Chair, SFELC Food Standards Sub-CommitteeSummary181 samples of Chinese-style meals were taken.22 samples (12%) failed the maximum levelprescribed by the Miscellaneous Food AdditivesRegulations. A further nine samples (5%) were within10% of the prescribed limit. Two samples containedMSG at more than twice the statutory limit, whileanother exceeded the limit by more than three times.BackgroundThe use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in foodis controlled by the Miscellaneous Food AdditivesRegulations 1995. The Regulations permit its use upto a concentration of 1% (10g/kg) in some foods butprohibit its use in others (for example, food for infants).It is used as a flavour enhancer in a variety of foodsprepared by food manufacturers and restaurants.There have been reports of adverse reactions inthose who have ingested food containing largequantities of MSG. The reactive symptoms arevaried but commonly reported ones are burningskin sensations, heart palpitations, weakness,numbness, muscle tightening, or light-headedness.Most individuals are unaffected by ingesting MSGbut, for those who are affected, the reaction to it canbe extremely distressing. Fortunately, however, thecondition is reversible and the symptoms rarely lastfor more than a few hours.Previous survey work in Scotland resulted in theScottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee(SFELC) Food Standards Sub-Committee (FSSC)approving guidance in a number of communitylanguages advising on the use of additives in thecatering trade.Despite previous work aimed at reducing levels ofMSG in prepared meals from Chinese takeaways,there still appeared to FSSC to be use of the additive atlevels above the limit prescribed in law.This survey aimed to establish an accurate overviewof the situation and to assess the level of compliance.Sampling181 samples of Chinese-style meals were taken bylocal authority Environmental Health Departmentsbetween August 2006 and March 2007. The sampleswere analysed by the four Scottish public analystlaboratories.Results181 samples of Chinese-style meals were taken.22 samples (12%) failed the maximum level prescribedby the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations.A further nine samples (5%) were within 10% of theprescribed limit. Two samples contained MSG atmore than twice the statutory limit, while anotherexceeded the limit by more than three times.An examination of the relative failure rates in particulargroups of foods gives the results shown in table 1.Food type Pass Fail % passChow mein 42 5 90%Curry 14 1 93%Black bean sauce 19 5 79%Fried rice 27 4 87%Other 79 7 92%Total 181 22 88%Table 1.33

Environmental Health ScotlandThe table suggests that, of the identifiable food typesanalysed, only black bean sauce meals showed amarkedly worse failure rate than other types.DiscussionThe continued failure of a significant numberof samples of Chinese-style meals to comply with theMSG limits is disappointing. It is apparent that thepreviously issued guidance for caterers in this sector hasnot been as effective as FSSC would have hoped.The sample results suggest that many types offood can fail the standard and that the problem may beparticular outlets rather than food types.Whilst environmental health staff visiting caterers canreinforce messages regarding MSG use and samplescan be taken, it is apparent that a more direct, focusedapproach may be required to ensure an improvementin compliance.Consideration could be given to a number of optionsincluding promotions, discussions with trade groupsor prosecution of offenders.Recommendations• Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS) shouldassess current guidance to the Chinese cateringsector on MSG use. If gaps or deficiencies areidentified in the guidance, FSAS should work withstakeholders to provide clear, practical advice.• FSAS should consider, with stakeholders, the bestway to promote this advice and enter into a campaignto improve compliance.• Local authorities faced with illegal MSG use inmeals should consider taking formal samples andthe application of their enforcement policies.***Examinations and Professional Standards Committeeby Bernard Forteath, Committee Vice-ChairmanThe most recent meeting of the Committee took placein Stirling on Wednesday 30 April and the followingis a précis of what took place.The most recent diet of the ProfessionalExaminations took place in April. Thirteen candidatespresented of whom ten were successful and threeunsuccessful. Of the ten candidates who passed, twowere re-sits. The next diet of the ProfessionalExaminations has been fixed for 4, 5 and 6 November2008. The Committee also agreed the followingdates for diets in 2009: 24, 25 and 26 March and 3, 4and 5 November.The Director of Professional Developmentpresented the Committee with a report intended towiden the scope of the written case study and theintroduction of a written examination. The changesproposed are considered necessary so that the Schemeof Practical Training is more closely aligned to therecommendations contained in the Morris/Robertsonand Old reports that the Profession is a part of thewider public health workforce. The Committee agreed,in principle, to the proposed changes and the Directorof Professional Development will present a furtherreport on the development of this process to the nextmeeting of the Committee. A suitable lead-in timewill, of course, be provided for RegisteredStudents/Graduate Trainee EHOs who will be thesubject of the proposed changes to the Scheme ofPractical Training.Currently there are 55 students enrolled in the fouryears of the BSc (Hons) Environmental Healthdegree course at the University of Strathclyde, sevenstudents enrolled on the MSc in EnvironmentalHealth degree course at the University ofStrathclyde, and six students are studying on the MScEnvironmental Health degree course, by distancelearning, at the University of Derby. The numberof Environmental Health Officers working towardsChartered status continues to grow with 135members recently being awarded Certificates ofCompliance. The Director of ProfessionalDevelopment also reported an increase in the numberof members who had submitted ContinuingProfessional Development records and were workingtowards Chartered EHO status. If you are an EHO andare considering participating in the Scheme but arestill unsure of what is required please do not hesitateto contact Kevin Freeman at Manor Place.A copy of the Disciplinary Procedures and Codeof Professional Conduct, recently approved by theCouncil, will be sent to each member in the near future.This issue of the Institute’s Journal also contains anarticle by John Frater on the implementation of theseimportant documents.34

Environmental Health ScotlandSEPA NEWSby Gayle Howard, Communications Department, Scottish Environment Protection AgencyParliamentary Committee report on floodingSEPA has welcomed thepublication of the ScottishP a r l i a m e n t ’s R u r a lAffairs and EnvironmentCommittee report on floodingin Scotland. Dr ChrisSpray, SEPA’s Director ofEnvironmental Science, said:“I look forward to reading theCommittee report with great interest. Flooding is a majorissue in Scotland, and the impacts of climate changemean the problems will continue to grow. We need tofind more sustainable ways of tackling flooding and Iam sure the Committee’s recommendations will be avery valuable contribution to the way forward.”Revised enforcement policy launchedSEPA’s latest enforcementpolicy details the legalprocesses SEPA will use forbreaches of environmentallegislation. The policyadvocates working withoperators to stop harmfulpollution happening inthe first place but also provides details of the rangeof regulatory tools SEPA will use to bring aboutcompliance.The policy was updated following consultation withexternal stakeholders as well as SEPA’s own staff.Feedback from the consultation asked for clarificationon what SEPA does and more information ‘up front’ onwhat was expected from operators when an incidenttook place.ProsecutionsWilliam McArthur was fined £500 at Airdrie SheriffCourt on 1 April for waste offences.A Peterhead metal recycler, William B Davidson, wasfined £1,000 for waste offences at Peterhead SheriffCourt on 9 April.Glasgow based Luddon Construction Limited washanded a £4,000 fined at Airdrie Sheriff Court on 15April for illegally disposing of waste.On 16 April, James Stobo pled guilty at HamiltonSheriff Court to a water pollution incident thatresulted in a fish kill. He was fined £1,000.Further information on all SEPA prosecutions can beaccessed online at: www.sepa.org.uk/news/releases.SEPA investigates mystery dustA mysterious dust discoveredon cars in the Grangemoutharea turned out not to bea result of the restart ofthe Ineos refinery, but amixture of sand, road dustand plant material.The Met Office hasconfirmed that there were widespread reportsof dust deposition across the whole of the UK.They suggested that the dust may have originatedfrom Spain or the Sahara, been transportedin the atmosphere to the UK and depositedthrough rainfall.SEPA seeks views on radioactive waste disposalguidanceThe principles and requirements for near-surfacedisposal facilities dealing with radioactive wastehave been set down in a new guidance documentbeing consulted on by SEPA.SEPA is encouraging anyone with an interest inradioactive waste and the environment to read thedocument and feed back their support and concernsto the organisation. Full details of the proposals areavailable at www.sepa.org.uk/consultation/current/radioactive_waste/index.htm. Comments can be madeto SEPA by emailing NearSurfaceGRA@ sepa.org.ukby Monday 1 September.Sign up to SEPA weekly email updatesSEPA Update is an external weekly bulletin,featuring information including what’s newand press releases. Subscribe to the bulletin atwww.sepa.org.uk/update/index.htm.35

Environmental Health ScotlandHSE LAU newsby Tony Hetherington, Head of Local Authority Unit, Health and Safety ExecutiveSince my last article I have had the pleasure of twotrips to Scotland to start to get to know you all better.First, I visited a gathering of Chief Officers and talkedto them about the implications of Hampton’s proposalsand how HSE had reacted to pressures to be a better,modern regulator. In short, make sure every visit hasa purpose and is risk-based, that you have transparentpolicies and procedures, and are responsive to thoseyou regulate. So, if you are following Fit 3 priorities,applying the Enforcement Management Model andthe Enforcement Policy Statement, you won’t begoing far wrong. None of this is about going soft onenforcement, so if you are in doubt about this, readthe recent statement from the joint chairs of HELA.(http://www.hsenews.com/2008/05/01/joint-chairs-ofhela-statement-on-enforcement/).Second, I attended the REHIS annual conference inEdinburgh. Many thanks for your hospitality. It was avery interesting event and illustrated the wide rangeof issues your profession covers. In the light of what Iheard at the event I’m definitely going to lose weight,take more exercise, never eat another egg and avoidC. diff and other infections with frantic wiping of doorhandles and bedside buttons.On the work front, two issues are particularly pressing:evaluating the partnership and work to support theS18 standard.Work to evaluate the partnership was alwaysplanned for the mid-to-latter part of this year. However,the new HSE Board has decided to review the existingHSC strategy in the autumn. As partnership is akey theme in the existing strategy, we have broughtforward the evaluation to ensure the learning ofthe last four years or so can inform how the strategydevelops. Of course, this means we are now workingflat out to get things moving at double speed. Wewill probably be inviting some of you to attend focusgroups or to complete questionnaires at rather shortnotice, so apologies in advance for the pressureon deadlines.Meanwhile, the new S18 standard has just been agreed.It can be accessed at http://www.hse. gov.uk/section18/index.htm. If you haven’t looked at it, please do so.The standard will be applied to both HSE’s FieldOperations Division as well as to local authorities.We are now working with LACORS, HELA,CIEH and REHIS (Kevin Freeman - Director ofProfessional Development) to develop toolkits thatgive more detail about how to meet the principles setout in the standard and how to assess compliance.In particular, we are developing means to judge ifour staff in both HSE and local authorities have theskills, knowledge and experience to perform the taskswe ask of them. To do this we are developingthe Regulator’s Development Needs Analysis(DNA) Tool.We tested the tool during February and took on boardcomments. We are now piloting a much improved,web-enabled DNA tool for officers, inspectors andtheir managers to help them identify their developmentneeds. It captures the regulatory skills requiredof all warrant holders, prompting them to considerfurther development needs.Identifying possible solutions is a key element of theproject. The next stage aims to act as a conduit fordevelopment of good practice. It will map currentdevelopment opportunities, encouraging greatersharing of expertise, resources and materials andidentify areas where more could be done. We hopeeverybody, frontline staff and managers, will take theopportunities the tool provides.An example of the tool will be available on theHELex website from mid-June. If you want todiscuss anything associated with the tool, callPaul Kloss on 02920 263108 or write to him atpaul.kloss@hse.gsi.gov.uk.You will also want to be aware of some changesat HSE. As I type this, the new Director for HSE inScotland, Paul Stollard, will just be taking up postand replacing Stewart Campbell. I am sure Paul willbe extremely busy coming to terms with a wholerange of issues. I’m also sure that he will be keento meet you and cement relations with you all. If hehasn’t been in touch by now, he soon will be.Also, my boss, Phil Scott, is retiring soon. Amongst hisjobs was to champion partnership working with localauthorities across the whole of HSE. I am sure youwill all agree that he did a great job in buildingtrust and co-operation between HSE and localauthorities. Phil will be handing over his localauthority responsibilities to Marcia Davies during July.Marcia is the Field Operations Directorate Directorfor the Midlands and a long-standing supporterof partnership working with local authorities, and I’mlooking forward to working with her.36

Environmental Health Scotlandby Tom Bell, Chief ExecutiveNEWS IN BRIEFFrom Blantyre, Malawi to Blantyre, ScotlandYoung Samanyika, a Malawian Environmental HealthOfficer and Interim Board Member of the MalawianEnvironmental Health Association, arrived in Scotlandin April for a two week technical visit sponsoredby REHIS and organised in association with theUniversity of Strathclyde and South LanarkshireCouncil. Young thoroughly enjoyed his visit and passeson his sincere thanks to all who assisted him. A reportof his visit has now been produced and copies areavailable from REHIS.Celebrating a Milestone in Food Safety TrainingSouth Lanarkshire Council is a REHIS ApprovedTraining Centre and has been presenting the REHISElementary Food Hygiene Course to local businessesfor almost ten years. In May, Caroline Duris, the5,000th person to have successfully completed thecourse, was presented with her Elementary FoodHygiene Certificate. Caroline, an employee of AlexanderYoung Bakers in Hamilton, was presented with hercertificate at a special event hosted by CouncillorGerry Convery, Chair of Community Resources,South Lanarkshire Council.Young enjoying the REHIS Annual Conference.Bernard Forteath inaugurated as IFEH PresidentBernard Forteath was inaugurated as President of theInternational Federation of Environmental Healthat the Gala Congress Dinner. Bernard will be wellknown to many involved in the fields of environmentalhealth and public health and is currently a PastPresident of REHIS.Caroline with Robert Howe, Alex Young and Tom Bell.CongratulationsEHO members, Keith McNamara of Perth andKinross Council and Alastair Brown of GlasgowCity Council, were recently promoted within theirdepartments. Keith, a past President, was appointedto the position of Head of Environmental andConsumer Services and Alastair was appointed tothe position of Environmental Health and TradingServices Manager. Sincere congratulations to both.Scotland Chikwawa (Malawi) Health InitiativeRobert Howe, the Institute’s President, is delighted toannounce that the proceeds from the conference raffleand from conference speaker donations (made on theirbehalf in lieu of gifts) amounted to £600.00. A chequefor this amount has been donated to the Initiative.Many thanks to all the delegates, speakers and guestswho contributed.Bernard after his inauguration with Colm Smyth,Past President of IFEH, and Dr Jim Smith, Presidentof Environmental Health Australia.37

Environmental Health ScotlandFalkirk CouncilAccused:Address of Premises:CS Inns LtdFROM THE COURTST/A Amarillo Restaurant, Falkirk Stadium, Westfield, FalkirkLegislation: Food Safety Act 1990 and The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006Date of Offence(s): 23 April 2007Brief Account of Case: Dangerous operational practices demonstrated and evident within poorly cleanedpremises. Resulted in voluntary closure of business.Reporting Officer: Derek A Oliver, Environmental Health OfficerDate Determined: 12 December 2007Outcome:Accused pled guilty at Intermediate Diet to Charge 1 from 5: re food not of the qualitydemanded by the consumerPenalty: £300.00Other Observations: Company ceased trading within premises prior to Intermediate Diet. Business closedfor two days during Agreement.***Accused:Sameena ShahidAddress of Premises: T/A Almas Tandoori, 71 Grahams Road, FalkirkLegislation: Food Safety Act 1990 and The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006Date of Offence(s): 10 March 2007Brief Account of Case: Dangerous operational practices demonstrated and evident within poorly cleanedpremises. Resulted in service of Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice.Reporting Officer: Derek A Oliver, Environmental Health OfficerDate Determined: 28 January 2008Outcome:Accused pled guilty at Intermediate Diet but failed to appear for sentence. Warranthas been issued for her arrest.Penalty:AwaitingOther Observations: Procurator Fiscal notified to ensure prohibition procedures are highlighted to theSheriff on sentencing given the history of continual non-compliance. Business closedfor two days following service of Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice.***Accused:Khalid HussainAddress of Premises: T/A Saqi Superstore, Station Road, WhitecrossLegislation: Food Safety Act 1990 and The Food Labelling Regulations 1996Date of Offence(s): 30 May 2007Brief Account of Case: Selling high-risk perishable foodstuffs beyond their ‘use-by’ datesReporting Officer: Norina MacPhail, Environmental Health OfficerDate Determined: 29 January 2008Outcome:Accused pled guiltyPenalty:Admonished.38

Environmental Health ScotlandThe Royal Environmental HealthInstitute of ScotlandThe Institute was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee on 16th February 1983, to give effect tothe amalgamation of The Royal Sanitary Association of Scotland and The Scottish Institute of EnvironmentalHealth. The Institute was Incorporated by Royal Charter on 8th March 2001, following which the Company waswound up.The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland is a registered Scottish charity, Number SC009406.The objects for which the Institute is established, contained in Article 3 of the Charter, are for the benefit of thecommunity to promote the advancement of Environmental Health by:a. stimulating general interest in and disseminating knowledge concerning Environmental Health;b. promoting education and training in matters relating to Environmental Health; andc. maintaining, by examination or otherwise, high standards of professional practice and conduct on the part ofEnvironmental Health Officers in Scotland.The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland is an independent and self-financing organisation. It neitherseeks or receives grant aid. The Institute’s charitable activities are funded significantly by the subscriptions receivedfrom its members.The Institute’s affairs are managed by a Council which is elected by members. The Royal Environmental HealthInstitute of Scotland is a founding member of the International Federation of Environmental Health.The Institute frequently uses the acronym: REHIS ® .REHIS and the Crest device are registered trademarks of The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.39

Introducing theAnaphylaxis CampaignAllergen StandardFood manufacturersand retailers face a growingchallenge to minimize or eliminateallergen cross-contamination, whileproviding accurate informationto consumers frustrated by labelsthat state “may contain” an allergen.The Anaphylaxis Campaign,the charity that supports people withlife-threatening food allergies, has becomethe first organisation in the UK to developa Standard to promote consistent managementof food allergens and its labelling.“The Anaphylaxis Campaign Standardto Increase Trust in Information aboutAllergens in Food” provides:• High-quality management ofallergens leading to reduced risk,while demonstrating due diligence• Accurate communication of risk toconsumers, increasing their confidenceWhat the Standard covers• Allergen labelling as legally required,including the EU approved list• Allergy advice boxes• “May contain” advisory labellingTraining in the StandardHighfield.co.uk, the UK’s leading supplier of food safety andcompliance training and training materials, are the exclusiveretailer of the Standard. Highfield.co.uk also offer training coursesin the Standard for Food Manufacturers over 2-3 days.• IMPLEMENTING - 2-day course For managers who wishto learn more about allergens, enabling them to introduce andimplement allergen risk assessment and control measures inaccordance with the Standard.An optional third day of training covers the following:• AUDITING - additional half-day session For personsresponsible for internal verification of the HACCP system,this session will show how to audit your operation againstthe Standard to demonstrate effective allergen management.• IN-HOUSE TRAINER - additional half-day sessionAll the knowledge you need to train your staff to comply withthe requirements of the Standard.2008 ALLERGEN TRAINING COURSES:JULY, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER & NOVEMBERVENUE: HIGHFIELD TRAINING ACADEMYCourses can also be arranged at your choice of venueor at your premises upon request.ALL COURSE DELEGATES CAN PURCHASE THE STANDARDAT A SPECIAL RATE OF 50% OFF THE NORMAL PRICEFor further information on the Standardand Training Courses, please call0845 226 0350 or visit www.highfield.co.ukUp-to-date information on food allergens is available by e-mailinginfo@anaphylaxis.org.uk©Highfield.co.uk ltd 2008tel: 0845 2260350 fax: 0845 2260360 www.highfield.co.uk