Author: Sarah Groom

Air pollution in Glasgow city centre has dropped by a third since enforcement of the Low Emission Zone – marking a major step forward in the city’s clean air ambitions.

New data for 2024 shows a 34% reduction in levels of nitrogen dioxide within the LEZ area compared to 2022 – the last full year before scheme enforcement. Diffusion tube monitoring has also shown a 21% drop of the harmful pollutant at locations outside the zone.

This clean air breakthrough is detailed in Glasgow’s most recent Air Quality Annual Progress Report — the first to reflect a full calendar year of data since the city centre Low Emission Zone was extended to all vehicle types in June 2023.

Annual monitoring from 2024 has also shown that for the first time, Glasgow recorded full compliance with all statutory air quality objectives following their introduction thirty years ago.

These latest results highlight the effectiveness of Glasgow’s LEZ in improving air quality citywide, representing a significant step forward in the city’s commitment to reducing pollution and safeguarding public health.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide at all automatic monitoring stations were below the objective levels, continuing the trend of compliance for the third consecutive year. While Hope Street – known for recording the highest nitrogen dioxide levels in Scotland – is now reporting concentrations nearly 10% below the statutory objective, illustrating the transformative impact of Glasgow’s clean air measures.

City centre diffusion tubes, which in 2023 recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide above the objective on Gordon Street and under the Hielanman’s Umbrella are now in full compliance – with the highest recorded level more than 25% below the objective.

And building on several years of consistent compliance, the annual objectives for PM10 and PM2.5 – the ultra-fine particles known to pose serious health risks, were successfully met at all monitoring locations.

Cllr Angus Millar, Convener for Transport, Climate and City Centre Recovery said: “These new figures clearly show that Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone is successfully tackling city centre air pollution. A one-third drop in levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide since the LEZ’s introduction means cleaner air for everyone.

“Air pollution contributes to hundreds of deaths in Glasgow every year and damages the health of thousands more. The LEZ was introduced to tackle the stubbornly high pollution levels causing that. Now, for the first time, Glasgow is meeting the legal limits on air pollution at all recorded locations.

“These significant improvements to city centre air quality come at a crucial time, as footfall continues to rise and key streets are transformed through the Avenues programme. Cleaner air not only reduces health risks but helps create a more pleasant environment for everyone.”

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “I’m very pleased that Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone is significantly improving local air quality. What we’re seeing through these findings is a clear and direct link between the LEZ and air quality benefits. Glasgow was the first LEZ in Scotland to start enforcement and the first to deliver these benefits. We can expect to see similar reductions across Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh in time.

“We know that air pollution disproportionately impacts the youngest, the oldest and those with pre-existing medical conditions. As such, the LEZ is working effectively to protect public health in Glasgow and reduce health inequalities.

“At the same time – it’s really encouraging that the revenue raised from the LEZ has been reinvested to support local community projects that work to protect the climate and further improve air quality across the city.”

Glasgow has previously declared four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) due to levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter exceeding the legal objectives.

Three of these AQMAs have since been revoked, reflecting ongoing improvements in air quality. However, the AQMA for the city centre, established in 2002, remains in place.

Whilst the LEZ is driving significant improvements in the city centre’s air quality, revocation of an AQMA can only happen where there is compliance with the objectives for at least three consecutive years, and where further exceedances of the objectives are unlikely to occur.

If current progress continues, the city centre AQMA will be eligible for revocation ahead of the 2029 target set in Glasgow’s 2024 Air Quality Action Plan.

The UK Government have announced new guidelines for commercial baby food to reduce salt and sugar, along with clearer labelling to help parents make informed decisions.    

Baby food manufacturers will be given 18 months to reduce sugar and salt levels in baby foods aimed at children up to 36 months old.    

This will need to be achieved without the use of sweeteners as these are not permitted for use in commercial baby food.

Clearer labelling guidelines are also set to be introduced to help parents more easily understand what food they are buying for their children.

Obesity costs the NHS £11.4 billion a year and is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s – including among children.

High sugar intake in children’s diets is a significant factor contributing to high rates of childhood obesity in the UK, which is among the highest in Western Europe.

The hope is that these new voluntary guidelines will support parents in making easier and healthy choices – and without having to change the products they buy.

The guidelines will also tackle misleading labelling that often conflicts with official feeding advice. For example, some products labelled as snacks for babies from seven months onwards directly contradict government’s recommendations that children 6-12 months do not need snacks between meals, only milk.

Manufacturers will also be told to stop using misleading marketing claims that make products appear healthier than they are; for example, products with labels such as “contains no nasties” -when products may be high in sugar.

The government has also joined forces with fitness coach Joe Wicks to help get children active over the summer through the launch of a new animated series, ‘Activate’, available on YouTube.

From January 2026, adverts for less-healthy products will be banned from being shown on TV before 9pm or at any time online, reducing children’s excessive exposure to many foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The government has also granted more powers to local authorities to ban fast food shops from setting up outside of schools.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has opened a public consultation on the renewal of anticoagulant rodenticide products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR).

The consultation, which runs until 30 September 2025, will assess whether there are suitable and sufficient alternatives to anticoagulant rodenticides such as difethialone, difenacoum, bromadiolone, brodifacoum, flocoumafen and coumatetralyl.

These products are essential tools for controlling rats and mice in and around buildings, as well as in sewers.

However, because anticoagulants meet exclusion criteria under GB BPR, their continued use requires careful justification.

HSE’s comparative assessment will look at:

• Whether alternatives to anticoagulant rodenticides have lower risks for human health, animal health and the environment
• Whether alternatives are sufficiently effective
• Whether alternatives present economic or practical disadvantages
• Whether the range of available active substances is wide enough to minimise resistance in rats and mice.

To inform this work, HSE is asking for evidence and data from those working in rodent control, public health, animal health, wildlife protection, food production and storage, and critical national infrastructure.

If HSE concludes that alternatives are suitable and sufficient, the authorisation of anticoagulant rodenticides could be restricted or even refused.

For pest management professionals, this could significantly impact the range of tools available to manage rodents and protect public health.

A consultation paper has been circulated for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to assume responsibility for management of the local authority air quality monitoring network.

The Scottish Government believes that SEPA is best placed to take on the management of the local authority air quality monitoring network given its existing reserve powers under the Environment Act 1995. This would allow for maintenance and operation of the local authority air quality monitoring network as a whole to be centrally managed in a single contract. 

The Scottish Government believes that bringing the responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the local authority air quality monitoring sites together would result in efficiencies and financial savings, as well as lessening resource burdens on individual local authorities. This would also allow a greater level of standardisation to be achieved across the monitoring network. 

Under section 82 of the Environment Act 1995 (the 1995 Act), local authorities are required to regularly review air quality in their areas, and make an assessment of air quality against air quality standards and objectives for several air pollutants of concern for human health.  If the assessment shows that any standards or objectives are not being met, or are predicted not to be met by the required dates, the authority concerned must identify any parts of its area where standards or objectives are not likely to be achieved,  and designate any area where standards or objectives are not being achieved or are not likely to achieved as an Air Quality Management Area and produce an action plan setting out how it intends to work towards achieving those air quality standards and objectives.   

The Scottish air quality monitoring network includes (at the time of writing) 99 high precision fixed location automatic monitoring stations  producing data for a range of pollutants in near real time, 78 of which are operated by local authorities (the remainder being operated by central government as part of the UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN)), and 1,051 (2024 total) lower precision mobile nitrogen dioxide diffusion tubes, all of which are operated by local authorities, both with comprehensive geographical coverage across the country.   

Each local authority is responsible for the maintenance and operation of its air quality monitors. Since 1997, grants have been provided by the Scottish Government to individual local authorities to assist them in undertaking their statutory air quality duties, with a particular focus on the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of each authority’s air quality monitoring network, which have expanded significantly over that period.  

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is Scotland’s environmental regulator, and has reserve powers under section 85 of the 1995 Act in relation to local authority air quality management. These powers allow SEPA to conduct its own reviews and assessments of whether air quality standards and objectives are being achieved or are likely to be achieved. In order to exercise these powers, SEPA requires data from the local authority air quality monitoring networks.  

The Scottish Government have published their Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research Strategy 2027-32 for public consultation

The Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) Research programme is a multidisciplinary portfolio of research. It is structured in five-year cycles to enable long term strategic research and provide clarity on research priorities and programme structure. 

This is a draft version of the 2027-32 ENRA Research Strategy for public consultation. 

The programme covers a broad range of issues critical to Scotland’s environmental and agricultural futures including:

• Regenerative and sustainable agriculture
• Optimising Scotland’s land-use for multiple objectives
• Protecting soils (including peatland)
• Plant and animal health
• Sustainable food systems
• Circular economy
• Reforming Scotland’s land system
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in ENRA
• Nature loss and biodiversity

The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding. Your views are crucial to informing the development of the final 2027-32 ENRA Research Strategy.

Read the consultation paper. The consultation period ends on 24 October.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are looking for feedback on their draft strategy for 2026-31 from the public, local authorities and those working across the food system in Scotland.

The draft strategy sets out FSS priorities for delivering our vision for a safe, authentic and healthier food environment that Scotland can trust.

FSS welcome your feedback to help us finalise the strategy that will be published in 2026.

The consultation period will end on 14th September.

New figures from National Records of Scotland show the time people in Scotland can expect to live in good health, without serious illness or disability, has fallen to a near ten-year low.

The latest figures show that in 2021-2023 females could expect to enjoy 60 years of good health and males 59.6 on average at birth.

The report also states there is a gap in healthy life expectancy at birth between different council areas. People in North Ayrshire experience the lowest healthy life expectancy at 52.6 years for men and 52.5 years for women, which is around 13 and 14 years shorter for men and women respectively compared to Perth and Kinross, one of the areas with the highest healthy life expectancy.

The reasons why people are living less years in good health are complex. Health is not only shaped by the health services we receive and our behaviours, but also by our physical and social environment.

Within Scotland, there is a renewed focus on maintaining good health and reducing inequalities by preventing health conditions from developing in the first place.

The recently published Population Health Framework outlines a long-term strategy centred on improving Scotland’s health, creating a Scotland where we live longer, healthier lives by preventing illness.

It prioritises addressing overweight and obesity as an early action. This includes developing legislation to improve the food environment and making it easier and more affordable to access healthy foods.

The benefits of healthy eating, active living and maintenance of a healthy weight are widely recognised and directly associated with a wide range of health benefits.

Currently, two-thirds of adults in Scotland carry excess weight, which is a significant contributor to poor health. A key driver of this is not simply individual choices, but instead environments where healthy options are often less accessible and more expensive than less healthy options.

Reflecting on the figures, Dr Rishma Maini, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at Public Health Scotland, said:

“The recent statistics on healthy life expectancy for Scotland are deeply concerning, as it means that more people are likely to spend more years living with chronic illness, disability or being dependent on others. All this impacts greatly on the individual and the systems that support them.

“We are confident that we can tackle the root causes of ill health and build a Scotland where everyone has the opportunity to thrive by supporting the actions set out in the Population Health Framework. We all have a role to play, be it local or national government, third sector, or businesses.

“An important step we can take together is to create an environment where healthy food is available and affordable – wherever we live, work, study and socialise. By taking coordinated action to improve the health of everyone in Scotland, we can help people live longer lives in good health.”

Don’t Miss Out! Celebrate 150 Years of Environmental Health in Scotland with Us!

Spaces are still available to join this special milestone event. Be part of the celebration, connect with experts, and explore the journey of Environmental Health over the past century and a half. Secure your place now! For more information and booking details, visit: REHIS 150th Anniversary Forum – REHIS

Routes into the Environmental Health Profession

We are now in the final stages of completing the accreditation process for the MSc in Environmental Health at Abertay University. We anticipate that accreditation will be confirmed by the end of August 2025. Once approved, the programme will be listed on the Abertay University website and open for applications, with the first student intake planned for January 2026.

Discussions are ongoing with the University of the West of Scotland regarding potential options for an undergraduate programme. We have also approached all academic institutions in Scotland; however, due to current financial constraints, no universities are in a position to introduce new programmes at this time. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to pursuing opportunities wherever possible.

REHIS continues to offer both the EHO Alternative Route and the Food Safety Officer pathway, both of which are successfully producing qualified officers.

Plans are well underway for the next diet of professional interviews, which will be at the Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline starting on 30 September 2025 where there are 19 candidates expected to sit the REHIS Diploma or SFSORB exams.

Health and Safety Update, 3 September 2025

Join us for this year’s Annual Health and Safety Update on the morning of Wednesday, 3 September, hosted live on MS Teams. Don’t miss an exciting lineup of expert speakers ready to share the latest insights and updates in health and safety. Secure your place now, for booking information, please see REHIS Health and Safety Update – REHIS

Community Training Update

The Institute is pleased to announce that the REHIS Elementary Nutrition course has been credit rated on the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) at SCQF Level 5 and awarded 1 credit. Additionally, the REHIS First Aid at Work course has been credit-rated at SCQF Level 6 and awarded 3 credits.

The new REHIS Mental Health First Aid course is in the final stages of development, with three pilot courses already delivered and a final pilot scheduled for August. Following evaluation of the feedback, the course will be launched for REHIS approved training centres to add to their portfolio.

Northern and Southern Centres

The Institute’s two Membership Centres – Northern and Southern – will soon be holding their Annual General Meetings. Both Centres are seeking enthusiastic and committed members to join their committees. This is a great opportunity to get involved and have your voice heard. If you’d like to find out more, please contact the Institute’s office at contact@rehis.com and we will connect you with the relevant Centre Chair.

Environmental Health Scotland – the Journal

The Summer edition of Environmental Health Scotland is now available in the members section of the website.

Households are being warned about the dangers of wood-burning stoves, including modern eco-design models, as a new study by the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) has found that the use of woodstoves results in short-term exposures to high concentrations of toxic pollutants, posing potential health risks to residents. 

In the study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, researchers monitored a number of homes in Guildford, Surrey, that used a range of heating stoves and clean solid fuels, including seasoned wood, kiln-dried wood, wood briquette, and smokeless coal. After measuring pollutant levels, such as ultrafine particles (UFPs), fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), black carbon (BC), and carbon monoxide (CO), GCARE found open fireplaces produced the highest emissions, increasing PM_2.5 exposure up to seven times compared to modern stoves.  

Multifuel eco-design stoves followed, emitting more UFP emissions than standard eco-design (top-rated for low emissions under a UK certification scheme). Wood briquettes and smokeless coal increased ultrafine particle exposure by 1.7- and 1.5-times, respectively, compared to seasoned wood, challenging assumptions that these manufactured fuels are cleaner alternatives. 

While improved stoves reduced pollutant emission overall, even the best models caused significant spikes in indoor pollution during lighting, refuelling, and ash removal. In many cases, pollutant levels exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) good practice statement for 24-h averaged values of 10,000 particles per cubic centimetre on ultrafine particle source emission control. 

The research team also found that ventilation played a critical role in indoor pollution. Homes with closed windows during burning had up to three times higher pollution levels than those with periodic window opening. Smaller room size and longer burning durations also worsened indoor air quality, highlighting how everyday factors influence exposure. 

Short and long-term exposure to pollution from wood-burning sources has been linked to a wide range of health effects, including chronic respiratory conditions, heart disease, lung cancer, and even damage to the kidneys, liver, brain, and nervous system.  

The research, funded in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and supported by the University of Surrey’s Breaking Barrier Studentship Award, highlights the need for stricter regulation and more public awareness of indoor air pollution linked to wood burning for domestic heating. 

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have raised concerns about local authority resources and inspection activities.

Findings come from a report by FSS and the FSA reviewing food safety across the UK in 2024.

According to the report, local authorities do not have enough resources to address the substantial backlog of inspections or deal with the growing number of new food businesses that should be inspected.

In Scotland, 20 percent of all allocated food safety roles were unavailable or vacant at the end of 2024. There is a backlog in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland of 95,000 overdue inspections, including 871 high-risk businesses. In Scotland, more than 12,500 out of 72,950 registered firms were unrated in December 2024.

“We remain concerned that local authorities do not have sufficient capacity to deal with a growing number of food businesses, with a substantial backlog of new businesses awaiting their first inspection and feedback on any unknown risks,” said FSA and FSS.

Nine out of ten UK food businesses covered by the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and
Food Hygiene Information Scheme continue to hold satisfactory or better ratings, but there
is a backlog in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of 95,000 overdue inspections, including
871 high-risk businesses. In Scotland, 17.2% (12,533 out of 72,950) of registered businesses
were unrated in December 2024

The decline in local authority food sampling rates was raised as a concern as surveillance sampling shows that labelling issues are responsible for most non-compliances. Sampling rates in the UK fell by 4.5 percent between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 from 43,579 to 41,624. Testing went up in Wales and Scotland but fell in England and Northern Ireland.

As in previous years, there are examples of products containing allergens that are not labe;led correctly. Failure to identify allergens on packaging can be life threatening to consumers with food allergies.

“We are particularly concerned to see that sampling activity is well below pre-pandemic levels despite some signs of recovery since 2020/21. Sampling related to food standards has been particularly affected, in part due to resource challenges, and is especially concerning when we know from wider surveillance that there continue to be non-compliances,” said FSA and FSS.

The United States moved from ninth to seventh in the list of countries the UK imports food from. The UK saw a 50 percent increase in beverages and increased volumes of cereals and grains, vegetables, and sugar and syrups imported from the U.S.

Food and feed safety incidents remained stable at 1,903. Pathogenic microorganisms were the most common hazard with 436 alerts. At 290, meat and meat products, excluding poultry, accounted for 15 percent of incidents.

The number of allergy alerts issued by the FSA and FSS rose from 64 to 101. Figures were influenced by a contamination incident involving mustard and peanuts. There were also 67 recalls, mainly because of foreign bodies and microbial contamination.

Heather Kelman, chair of FSS, said: “Overall food standards remain stable, but we should not be complacent given the years of under-investment in capacity and capability. Food needs to be safe, accurately described, and support healthier choices and we need a system that supports growth and trade, and the current trajectory of resource puts that at risk.”

Recruitment of Official Veterinarians (OVs) has improved but remains challenging. By law, OVs must be present for slaughter houses to operate.

During 2024, the UK’s food crime units carried out 29 live investigations with 20 involving meat and meat products. 

Professor Susan Jebb, chair of the FSA, said: “25 years on from the creation of the FSA, safe food is largely taken for granted by consumers. But this remarkable shift from the crisis of confidence in the 1990s didn’t happen by chance – food safety isn’t good luck. As the regulator we need to play our part by setting out our expectations, supporting others in the system to deliver on their responsibilities and taking firm action when problems arise.” 

Asda Stores Ltd has been ordered to pay over £655,000 after pleading guilty to selling food past its use-by-date at two of its Cardiff branches.

The case followed customer complaints, prompting Trading Standards Officers at Cardiff Council to carry out inspections at two Asda supermarkets in Cardiff on six separate occasions between January and June 2024.

During these visits, more than 100 food items were discovered to be past their use-by-date and were subsequently removed from the shelves.

Some of the food products were found to be up to seven days past their use-by-date, with many being sold as ready-to-eat items. Several of these products were clearly marketed towards children, raising concerns about food safety and consumer protection.

At a previous hearing on 21^st May 2025, Asda Stores Ltd pleaded guilty to four charges of selling unsafe food. The offences included the sale of high-risk items such as meat and dairy products, which pose a significant health risk when consumed beyond their use-by dates.

District Judge Charlotte Murphy referred to the seriousness of the offences, the duration of time that the offending took place, the number of food items that were past their use-by date, the size, scale and turnover of the organisation, and the fact that the efforts made by the company to address the offending were ineffective.

Asda Stores Limited was fined £640,000, ordered to pay £15,115 in prosecution costs and a Victim Surcharge of £2,000. The four offences were in breach of Regulation 4 9 (b) of the General Food Regulations 2004, relating to the sale of unsafe food.

In April this year, Asda also received a £410,000 fine following an investigation and prosecution by Cornwall Council Trading Standards which found that the grocer had displayed food that was as much as 4 weeks past its use-by date.

Cllr Norma Mackie, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Shared Regulatory Services at Cardiff Council welcomed the fine imposed by the court, saying: “Consumers should be confident that the food on sale at stores is safe to eat. It is essential that robust systems are in place to prevent the sale of food past its use-by-date. In this case, Asda fell significantly short of the required standards expected. The systems that they had in place were clearly inadequate and we hope that Asda has now taken the necessary steps to rectify these failings to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.”

South Cambridgeshire District Council has voted to become the first Council in the UK to permanently adopt a four-day week – after rigorous independent analysis showed most services got better or were maintained, with significant improvements to recruitment and retention.

Under South Cambridgeshire District Council’s four-day week, staff are expected to carry out 100 per cent of their work, in around 80 per cent of their contracted hours, without reduction in pay. All Council staff will be able to opt-in under a Productivity Policy.

Independent analysis from the Universities of Salford, Bradford and Cambridge highlights how 21 of 24 services they monitored have improved or stayed the same since four-day week working began at the Council in 2023. Those areas which saw a statistically significant improvement include:

• The percentage of calls answered by the Contact Centre.
• The average number of days taken to update Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims.
• The average number of weeks for householder planning applications to be decided.
• The percentage of planning applications (both large and small) decided within target or agreed timescales.
• The percentage of Council house repairs complete within 24 hours.
• The percentage of complaints responded to on time.

If performance variations caused by COVID are discounted, every single service monitored either got better or stayed the same.

The number of applications for jobs at the Council rose by more than 120 per cent during the four-day week. Beforehand, only around eight in 10 jobs advertised were filled – sometimes only five out of every 10. The number of workers leaving fell by more than 40 per cent – helping provide benefits to communities through greater stability of services.

The Council has also cut the amount it has to spend over its budgets on staff. There has been a yearly saving of £399,263. This is mainly due to filling vacancies permanently – rather than using more expensive agency workers, which can be disruptive for residents as officers change.

The four-day week has seen more staff say that they intend to continue to work for the Council, a key factor in reducing turnover and high vacancy rates. Mental and physical health and motivation have improved.

Further independent research by the University of Cambridge details how the four-day week has benefited disabled colleagues, those with medical conditions and carers.

The Council initially ran a three-month trial of a four-day week at the start of 2023 to help to ease acute recruitment and retention challenges. That trial was extended for one year. The Council then had to run a public consultation – which took place earlier this year – before being able to determine the next steps. Four-day week working has continued in the meantime.

An independent report from market research company DJS Research into that consultation outlines what responses showed about residents’ perception and experiences of services during the four-day week.

A representative survey shows people felt there had been no statistically significant difference in their experience of nine services. There was a perceived decrease in three services. Elsewhere in the same survey, 45 per cent of people expressed support for the four-day week – but there were a range of responses.

The four-day week data was discussed at their Scrutiny and Overview Committee. District Councillors then voted to become a permanent four-day week employer.