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The February edition of the REHIS e-Newsletter ‘News for Public Health Professionals’ has been uploaded to this website and is accessible from a dedicated portal to the right of this news item. If you wish to feature an environmental health or public health initiative, event or activity in the e-Newsletter please contact Tom Bell, Chief Executive on 0131 229 2968 or tb@. 

The new online register of occupational safety and health consultants will open for registration on 31 January 2011.  Members of the participating professional bodies representing safety and occupational health consultants who meet the eligibility criteria can apply to join the register from that date.  Those who apply before 30 April 2011 will benefit from a discounted application fee.The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) has been set up by a number of professional bodies representing general safety and occupational health consultants across the UK, with support from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).  It is designed to help businesses find well-qualified and experienced consultants able to give good quality advice.  

OSHCR registration is voluntary and open to individuals who provide commercial advice on general health and safety management issues; and who have achieved at least one of the following:

• Chartered status with REHIS (Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) with health and safety qualifications;  Chartered status with CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health);Chartered status with IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) or Fellow status with IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management) with degree level qualifications
• Member or Fellow status with the BOHS (British Occupational Hygiene Society) Faculty of Occupational Hygiene
• Registered Member or Fellow status with IEHF (Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors). See attached pre-registration document for more details and go to https:/documents/publications for FAQs

The revised guide continues to build on existing good practice, and has been updated to reflect the changes following implementation of the EU Food Hygiene Regulations which came into force on January 2006. The guide has been enhanced to include a section on food labelling to cover most food found at farmers markets. The information in the revised guide is designed not only to help market traders and organisers meet food safety requirements, but also to assist traders in the correct labelling of their products to comply with food labelling requirements. The guide remains applicable to similar events such as car boot sales, fetes, agricultural shows and continental markets. It provides specific information on compliance with Regulation 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, Regulation 853/2004 specific hygiene of foods of animal origin, where applicable, and in relation to temperature control, the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The new composition & labelling section provides guidance on general labelling requirements as well as product specific labelling requirements Once again the guide has been developed by representatives from local authorities, the Scottish Food Advisory Committee and the Scottish Association of Farmers, with the main purpose of assisting market traders comply with food safety and food standards requirements.

The REHIS Newsletter was launched on the website today and features short articles on news, initiatives, events and other activities which promote environmental and public health across Scotland. The newsletter, which will be produced on a monthly basis, will highlight the work of all public health professionals and their contribution to the improvement and protection of the health of the people of Scotland. Click on the News for Public Health Professionals portal on the REHIS home page to access the April 2007 edition of the newsletter.

New guidance issued to businesses on how to comply with the proposed anti-smoking measures is given full support by the Institute. (8 November 2005) More.

The Scottish Executive has issued a series of information letters to local authorities offering guidance on how the new Regulations should be applied. One letter clarifies the position with Private Water Supplies on Dairy Farms. They are classed as a ‘commercial activity’ and therefore fall to be treated as a Type A supply. For further information go to www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk

This legislation was passed by the Parliament on 24 November 2005 and received Royal Assent on 5 January 2006. It builds on and repeals certain sections of the previous Housing (Scotland) Acts (HSAs) and will have a major impact on how Environmental Health Officers deal with sub-standard housing.

A new national liaison group has been established to deal with the subject of enforcement of the Smoke-Free initiative, with a meeting having been held in Milngavie, near Glasgow this week. It was attended by Smoking Enforcement Officers, Environmental Health Officers and Managers representing almost all of Scotland’s local authorities. The delegates were addressed by Mary Cuthbert of the Scottish Executive’s tobacco control unit and by Lisa Buck from Scotland’s Health at Work. Evonne Tennant of the host authority, East Dunbartonshire Council chaired. It was agreed the meeting had been extremely useful for sharing information and good practice and that the group would continue to meet on a quarterly basis, with the next scheduled meeting expected to be held in Falkirk in early December.

The attached document has been produced to summarise the Environmental Health priorities of five of the main Scottish political parties: Scottish Conservatives; Scottish Green Party; Scottish Labour; Scottish Liberal Democrats; Scottish National Party. The environment, public health, climate change, local government provision, poor housing, traffic congestion and air quality all appear to be concerns for the parties. The stance of each party has been outlined in the document.

REHIS launched an International Essay Competition last week. REHIS, a Founder Member of the International Federation of Environmental Health, celebrated its 135^th birthday earlier this year and has marked the occasion by inviting undergraduate and postgraduate students on Environmental Health programmes accredited by member organisations of the Federation to participate in an essay competition. The set essay topic will be: How would you raise the profile of environmental health and make its delivery more relevant to government and policy makers over the next five years? This is a REHIS award and the Institute aims to raise the profile of international environmental health issues, encourage student Environmental Health Professionals to consider Environmental Health in a global perspective, and promote the work of the Federation as the global umbrella organisation for environmental health. Full details attached.

Tom Bell

Chief Executive

The Scottish Coalition on Tobacco (SCOT) today called on all of Scotland’s political parties to include a commitment to a new tobacco control strategy for Scotland in their manifestos. Saying that the previous comprehensive strategy was now out of date and it was time for a robust new strategy suitable for Scotland’s particular challenges and opportunities.

SCOT is a coalition of partners which campaigns on all matters related to tobacco and health. Members aim to further reduce the harm caused by tobacco in Scotland and to campaign for better tobacco control.

The current membership of SCOT includes: ASH Scotland; British Heart Foundation Scotland;  British Lung Foundation Scotland; British Medical Association; Cancer Research UK; Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland; Macmillan Cancer Support; Royal College of Nursing; The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.

See more at  http://www.ashscotland.org.uk/ash/8268.html

The SCOT press release and the manifesto letter are attached below.

Graduates with environmental health degrees may celebrate their successes, but then find difficulty in finding placements with local authorities. Figures gathered by the Institute show that the lack of training places is not getting any better. See press release