Category: News Item

Celebrate 150 Years of Environmental Health – Forum and Dinner, 25 September 2025

Be part of a landmark occasion as we celebrate 150 years of Environmental Health in Scotland. This special Forum on Thursday 25 September, will bring together professionals to reflect on the past, address today’s challenges, and discuss the future of Environmental Health. The event will be followed by a celebratory dinner, marking this historic milestone.

Confirmed speakers include Professor Linda Bauld, who will shed light on how Behavioural Science shapes Public Health, and a presentation from Public Health Scotland on using placemaking to protect public health while addressing climate change. Gerard McCormack will share insights on public sector reform, while Dr. Carrie Ruxton will present the latest trends in nutrition. Additionally, the event will feature the launch of the Institute’s Timeline, highlighting key milestones from 1875 to the present day. There will also be a panel discussion with Environmental Health professionals on why Environmental Health is a career of choice, followed by a Q&A session — and much more. For information and booking arrangements see REHIS 150th Anniversary Forum – REHIS

Director of Professional Development – Job Share

Now is your opportunity to make a meaningful impact to the future of the Environmental Health profession in Scotland. If you thrive in a flexible, collaborative working environment where your expertise is valued and can truly make a difference – then join us!

We are seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking Director of Professional Development (DPD) to join our team at the Institute in a part-time, job-share capacity. You will work in close partnership with our current DPD to drive the development and support of the next generation of Environmental Health professionals across Scotland.

This is more than just a job — it’s an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future of the profession. In return, we offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package. If you are interested, but would like more information, please click here DPD – Rehis

Northern and Southern Centres

The Institute has two Centres – Northern and Southern – to support our members by providing opportunities for networking and information sharing. Additionally, they organise training events focused on specific Environmental Health topics.

They’re always open to new ideas and help, and they’re looking for enthusiastic, committed members to join in. It’s a great opportunity to get involved, build leadership skills, and connect with a great group of like-minded professionals.

The Southern Centre committee especially, could use some extra help right now. For more information, please contact the Institute’s office contact@rehis.com and we will put you in touch with the Southern Centre chair.

The Martin Keeley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Health 2025

Applications are invited for the Martin Keeley award for outstanding contribution to Environmental Health 2025.

Protecting and improving public health is a fundamental objective of Environmental Health and the work of both REHIS and SOCOEHS. Recognising the contributions of our colleague, Martin Keeley, who sadly passed away in 2022, an award is presented to recognise individuals, groups or organisations for actions which have significantly promoted or improved Environmental Health (this can be for single element or wider Environmental Health). To submit a nomination, please complete this form HERE. Applications close on 31 July 2025.

Environmental Standard Scotland (ESS) are consulting on their draft Strategy for 2026-2031.

The Strategy sets out how ESS will work to scrutinise, investigate and secure improvements in public authorities’ compliance with environmental law, the effectiveness of environmental law, and the way it is being implemented and applied in Scotland.

ESS is an independent public body, established by the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021. ESS monitors compliance with, and the effectiveness of, environmental law in Scotland.

Their role is to hold local authorities to account to improve the quality of the environment in Scotland and help achieve the highest environmental standards.

Read the consultation paper and the draft Strategy 2026-31. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.

The consultation is open until the 29th August 2025 and you are invited to share your views using the online survey here Environmental Standards Scotland Strategy 2026-2031 – Scottish Government consultations – Citizen Space

A BBC Panorama investigation has raised serious concerns over the effectiveness of the UK’s funfair ride safety regime, following a string of incidents involving injuries and inspection failures.

There were 3,188 injuries in England, Scotland and Wales between April 2014 and March 2024, including slips, trips and falls, with 350 in 2023/24, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request put to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Broadcast on 3 June 2024, the programme focused on a catalogue of ride accidents and suggested that critical safety standards are not being upheld, despite the sector being regulated under HSG 175 – Fairgrounds and amusement parks: Guidance on safe practice.

One of the most shocking cases involved Jade Harrison, who was thrown from the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair in 2019, sustaining lasting injuries. The same ride was involved in a fatal accident in Australia in 2014. Despite concerns over its restraint system, it was later sold and operated in the UK.

Panorama found that David Geary, the inspector behind the ride’s original UK design review, has been repeatedly linked to accidents. He’s received criminal convictions, safety warnings, and was only suspended in 2025 after a disciplinary hearing.

Amusement rides in the UK are subject to annual inspections under the Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS). However, Panorama found that these inspections may not be consistently rigorous.

In response to the programme, the HSE stated: “We have taken enforcement action where serious failings have been identified and continue to review how inspections are carried out. We are committed to protecting public safety at funfairs and amusement parks.”

ADIPS Ltd said it was reviewing its practices and would work closely with the HSE to strengthen oversight. It added that individual inspectors bear ultimate responsibility for ensuring a ride’s safety and compliance.

Watch the programme here – BBC One – Panorama, Funfairs: How Safe Are They?

Following its consultation in 2024 on Restricting Promotions of Food and Drink High in Fat, Sugar or Salt (HFSS), the Scottish Government will bring forward regulations in Autumn to help create a food environment which better supports healthier choices.

The Scottish Government’s intention that restrictions in Scotland will align with policy in England and Wales. The regulations will seek to reduce the public health harms associated with the excess consumption of calories, fat, sugar or salt, including the risks of developing type 2 diabetes, various types of cancer and other conditions such as cardiovascular disease.

It is proposed that a 12 month lead in time from when regulations are laid to them coming into force will allow business and local authorities to prepare for implementation and enforcement of the regulations.

Local authorities will be responsible for enforcing the policy using powers in the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food (Scotland) Act 2015. The Scottish Government stated they will work with appropriate stakeholders to produce guidance material that supports implementation and enforcement of the policy.

Read more about the consultation and analysis here- Restricting promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt: consultation analysis – SG response – gov.scot

These proposed regulations is a step the Scottish Government are taking to create an environment where it is easier to eat well and maintain a healthy weight – this forms a key part of the longer-term, whole system approach to preventing obesity that they have set out in our 10-year Population Health Framework. Read more about the Population Health Framework here – Creating a healthier Scotland – gov.scot

Five councillors and a business owner have been fined a total of £11,825 after pleading guilty to health and safety breaches that saw a disabled swimmer almost drown in a leisure centre pool in East Ayrshire.

The local authority investigation revealed inadequate risk assessment and “deficiencies in procedures to ensure, whilst in the Galleon pool, members of the Kilmarnock Jets were not exposed to risks to their health and safety”.

Ryan Deans, 25, had to be resuscitated after being submerged for almost two minutes before the alarm was raised at the Galleon Centre in Kilmarnock in January 2023.

The five Councillors and one business owner were trustees of a company which provided leisure facilities at the centre at the time. The six trustees were fined £11,825 in total.

In a separate incident at the Galleon centre in 2019, trustees were fined £10,000 after a six-year-old girl nearly drowned in the same pool.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard Mr Deans – who has learning difficulties and suffers from seizures – was a member of the Kilmarnock Jets swimming club which was taking part in a session at the Galleon when he got into difficulty.

CCTV footage was shown of Mr Deans entering the pool by a slide. He was submerged for a minute and 52 seconds before volunteers from the club realised he was under the water. He was found face down in the middle of the small pool, with the depth at that point being about 0.8 metres.

Mr Deans was pulled out of the water by the volunteers who confirmed he was still breathing. The group then shouted to the lifeguard to raise the alarm. An ambulance was called and Mr Deans was taken to the Crosshouse University Hospital where it was found he had suffered a seizure underwater.

Services at the centre had been provided by the Kilmarnock Leisure Centre Trust, which handed over management of the Galleon on 1 April and is due to be dissolved.

The court heard the trustees wanted to put on record their sincere regret to Mr Deans.

Speaking after the sentencing, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPS) described the near-drowning of Mr Deans as “entirely avoidable”.

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for COPFS, said: “If not for the intervention of volunteers from the Kilmarnock Jets group this incident could potentially have had fatal consequences.

“This case should remind other pool operators that failure to fulfil their obligations in law can have potentially tragic consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.”

A council spokesperson said East Ayrshire Leisure Trust – which took over the running of the Galleon from Kilmarnock Leisure Trust – had “multiple, robust procedures in place to ensure all relevant Health and Safety processes are dealt with to ensure that an accident of this nature should not happen again”.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has welcomed the conviction of Thomas Robinson, 52, who was found guilty on two counts of fraud totalling nearly £600,000 following an extensive investigation by the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit.

Robinson defrauded luxury hotels and retailers by falsely claiming to supply premium tea grown in Scotland. He also misled a small group of genuine Scottish tea growers by selling them plants under the false pretence that they were a unique, Scottish-grown variety.

The investigation by FSS uncovered that Robinson’s misrepresentations led to financial losses totalling £584,738 for his clients.

Robinson, also known as Tam O’Braan and Thomas O’Brien, was found guilty by jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court following an extensive investigation by FSS. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Between January 2014 and February 2019, Robinson operated under the business name “The Wee Tea Plantation”, asserting that he cultivated Camellia Sinensis tea plants at his Perthshire estate.

He marketed this tea as authentically Scottish-grown and sold to high-profile clients in the hospitality sector, but in reality, the tea was sourced from wholesalers outside Scotland.

Robinson further bolstered his fraudulent claims by alleging he had developed innovative techniques for cultivating tea in Scotland’s climate. He also fabricated academic qualifications and industry awards to lend credibility to his story.

Ron McNaughton, Head of the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) at FSS, commented: “This was a highly complex and protracted investigation which required a significant amount of time, expertise and coordination across our team and with partner agencies. Fraud of this nature is often difficult to detect and even harder to prove, but we were determined to pursue every line of enquiry to build the strongest possible case.

“This was not a victimless crime — individuals, businesses, and an emerging sector of genuine Scottish tea growers suffered real financial and reputational harm as a result of deliberate deception. I would like to thank the witnesses who came forward and supported the investigation; their cooperation was essential to achieving this outcome.

“It’s a strong example of how partnership working and the dedication and skill of our investigative teams make it increasingly difficult for those committing food fraud to go undetected. We remain committed to protecting Scotland’s food and drink sector from criminal activity and maintaining consumer trust.”

The case highlights the serious implications of food fraud and the importance of vigilance in verifying product authenticity.

Climate Emergency UK has published the latest Climate Action Scorecards for all UK councils on the actions they’ve taken towards net zero. The average score for a Scottish Local Authority was 38%, 6 points higher than the last assessment in 2023.

The 2025 Action Scorecard assessment consists of 93 questions or less, depending on council type, across 7 different sections, created in consultation with over 90 different organisations and individuals. Each council was marked against these criteria and given a right to reply before the scores underwent a final audit. This work was completed between July 2024 and March 2025.

Of 391 councils and combined authorities, Climate Emergency UK has awarded 62 an overall score of 50% or more, this included four out the 32 Scottish Local Authorities. This is an increase of 21 authorities compared with the last results, but emphasises that budget constraints and knowledge gaps mean the vast majority are not on track to reach net zero. The first self-declared deadlines are currently set for 2030. 

The highest scores in Scotland were seen in the cities, with Edinburgh City Council and Glasgow City Council scoring 64%. Aberdeen City Council and Dundee City Council scored 52% and 51%

You can view all the results and methodology here.

Limits on the amount of greenhouse gases Scotland will emit over the coming decades have been announced as part of action to tackle climate change.

The Carbon Budgets propose five-year, statutory limits on emissions from 2026 to 2045. The proposed budgets are in line with the advice from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Scottish Government’s own assessments.

The average level of emissions for Scotland over each five-year period are:

• 57% lower than 1990 levels for 2026 – 2030
• 69% lower than 1990 levels for 2031- 2035
• 80% lower than 1990 levels for 2036 – 2040
• 94% lower than 1990 levels for 2041 – 2045

The proposals will be scrutinised by Parliament before being voted on in the autumn.

Once the Carbon Budgets have been agreed, the Scottish Government will publish and consult on a new draft Climate Change Plan outlining the specific actions required to reduce emissions so as to meet each of the first three carbon budget targets, as well as setting out the associated costs and benefits.

Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin said:

“Scotland is now halfway to our 2045 climate change target and is ahead of the UK as a whole in reducing long term emissions.

“These Carbon Budgets will set clear limits on emissions for the coming decades in line with the independent advice of the UK Climate Change Committee.

“When we publish our draft Climate Change Plan later this year, it will set out the policies needed to continue to reduce our emissions and meet our first three carbon budget targets.

“It will not ask the impossible of people. We will not sacrifice people’s health or wealth.

“While we welcome the UK CCC’s advice on how to stay within these limits, as they make clear, it is always for Scotland to decide whether those policies are right for us.

“This means, for example, that we will chart our own path on forestry, going further than the CCC suggest. And, to ensure we protect rural communities and have a thriving rural economy, we will not adopt all their recommendations on agriculture and peatland and will instead meet our targets in a way which works for rural Scotland, including supporting and protecting our iconic livestock industries.  

“These Carbon Budgets keep Scotland at the forefront of efforts to protect the planet and our Climate Change Plan will ensure the action we take is fair, ambitious and capable of rising to the emergency before us.”

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Webinar: Teens and substance use — what can parents do? is now available to view on YouTube here. The webinar aims to help adults manage risks relating to adolescent substance use in line with evidence-based prevention principles.

Smoking and drinking among 15–16-year-old school students are showing signs of decline, but there are concerns over potentially risky cannabis use and the challenges posed by new addictive behaviours. These are among the findings from the latest report from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD).

In the webinar, they explore evidence-based practices (i.e., what-to-do and what-not-to-do) to help address the hot topic of ‘drugs’ (whether legal or illegal) with teens from a parental perspective.

The Webinar is presented by the follow:

• Ina Koning, prevention researcher, VU Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Terese Glatz, parenting researcher, Örebro University, Sweden 
• Gregor Burkhart, senior prevention analyst, EMCDDA 
• Chairperson: Rachele Donini, prevention expert, Italy 
• Opening and closing remarks: Alexis Goosdeel, Director EMCDDA 

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) is commissioned by the Scottish Government Health Directorates to provide reliable information on the health, and factors related to health, of people living in Scotland that cannot be obtained from other sources. 

The series aims to:

• estimate the occurrence of particular health conditions
• estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with health
• look at differences between regions and between subgroups of the population
• monitor trends in the population’s health over time
• make a major contribution to monitoring progress towards health targets

For the first time, the data for the diet chapter of the SHeS, provides comparison with the SDGs as they were collected by a new methodology developed by Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

The overall picture of diet in Scotland remains very poor, with fibre intake among the worst of the survey results. Diets which are high in fibre are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer.

The data shows that, on average, adults consumed 17.2g of fibre per day, well below the target of 30g. Men, who typically have a higher total food intake, were more likely to achieve the target (8%), compared with women (5%).

Key findings from the report show that in 2021:

• revalence of hazardous or harmful weekly alcohol consumption has reduced from 34% in 2003 to 23% in 2021. Nine per cent of adults reported ever having had a problem with alcohol, with 1% saying they still had a problem.
• Five per cent of adults were current e-cigarette users, a reduction from 7% each year between 2015 and 2019.
• Thirty per cent of adults were living with obesity. This was similar to or marginally higher than rates in each year since 2008 (ranging from 27% to 29%).
• Around one in five of all adults consumed five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day (22%). This was similar to levels since 2003 (21% in 2003).
• One in five children (20%) aged 2 to 15 met the five-a-day recommendation for consumption of fruit and vegetables. This was significantly higher than in the years 2008 to 2019.
• Almost half of all adults (48%) met the Scottish Dietary goal to reduce total fat intake to no more than 35% of food energy. Around one in five adults (22%) met the Scottish Dietary Goal for free sugarsintake to not exceed 5% of total energy.

The Scottish Health Survey main report is published alongside a short summary report on the Scottish Health Survey website.  Key indicators for NHS health boards and local authorities are available via the Scottish Health Survey Dashboard.

Food Standards Scotland have launched a campaign aimed at encouraging people to take a daily vitamin D supplement.

Getting enough vitamin D is important to support bone and muscle health.

In Scotland, between October and March, we don’t get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin D.

Therefore, FSS are recommending that everyone considers taking a supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D daily.

People who are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D are recommended to take a daily supplement all year round. Those more at risk include:

• pregnant and breastfeeding women
• infants and children under 5 years old
• people who have low or no exposure to the sun, for example those who cover their skin for cultural reasons, are housebound, confined indoors for long periods or live in an institution
• people from minority ethnic groups with dark skin such as those of African, African-Caribbean and south Asian origin, who require more sun exposure to make as much vitamin D

Visit our website to find out more about vitamin D.

On the 10 November, the Draft National Planning Framework was laid in the Scottish Parliament for approval along with an Explanatory Report that outlines the changes from Draft NPF4 to the Revised Draft. This is a significant milestone for Scotland’s planning system.

The Revised Draft is a product of extensive engagement and collaboration and maintains the direction of travel that gained support through our 3 rounds of consultation: the Call for Ideas (2020), the Position Statement (2020) and Draft NPF4 (2021). 

Proposals in NPF4 include:

• enabling more renewable energy generation, outside National Parks and National Scenic Areas, to support the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels
• supporting emerging low-carbon and zero emissions technologies – including hydrogen and carbon capture – and developments on land that unlock the transformative potential of offshore renewable energy, such as expansion of the electricity grid. Waste incineration facilities would be highly unlikely to receive permission
• facilitating creation of cycling or walking routes, low carbon transport, more green spaces and opportunities for play, culture and tourism
• helping rural communities grow by enabling more local homes and encouraging a more diverse rural economy
• regenerating city and town centres to help them adapt to economic change while enabling people to access shops, schools and workplaces within a 20 minute walk or cycle
• adopting a planned and evidence-based approach to delivering good quality and affordable homes that benefit communities.

NPF4 is required to be approved by the Scottish Parliament, then adopted by Scottish Ministers.  On adoption we will commence the provisions in the Planning Act which will make NPF4 part of the statutory development plan. 

Revised Draft NPF4 | Transforming Planning