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Annual General Meeting – Friday 22 November, 2pm

The Institute’s Annual General Meeting is being held in hybrid format, on Friday 22 November 2024 at 2pm. It will be held at the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh and on MS Teams and is open to corporate members of the Institute.  Members should have received their papers by email (they are also available on the members section of the website) which includes the agenda and details of nominees who are up for election to the Institute’s Council. To register to attend please refer to the Institute’s website: Environmental Health Update & AGM – REHIS 

REHIS Environmental Health Update – Friday 22 November, 9.30am-1pm

The Environmental Health Update event is free to members and REHIS Course Presenters of Approved Training Centres and takes place in the morning of the AGM.  The event will include speakers on a broad range of Environmental Health topics.

This event is a hybrid event taking place in Edinburgh.  Booking form is available. Environmental Health Update & AGM – REHIS

REHIS Annual Environmental Public Health and Housing Update, 27 November 2024

This year’s Environmental Public Health & Housing Event will take place on 27 November with speakers covering a range of topics.  The event is online and the booking form will be available shortly.

Presenters include Dr Tim Everett speaking on the Effectiveness of Statutory Nuisance, Jim Wilson from Scottish Government speaking on Responsible Dog ownership, Neil Cunningham speaking on the Impact of Climate Change on Public Health, Food & Security and also Robin Mitchell speaking on Cryptosporidium and Swimming Pools.  We have one further speaker yet to confirm. The event will be free to student members.

REHIS Presenters Update Seminar – SAVE THE DATE – 12 March 2025

Save the date for the annual Presenters Seminar which is being held as an ‘in person’ event on Wednesday 12 March (all day) at the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh. The programme and booking form will be available in due course

REHIS Journal – Call for Articles

We are on the lookout for articles for our Journal, if you have an area of work that you think might be of interest then please get in touch contact@ .  The deadline date for the next edition of the Journal is 22 November 2024.

New research exploring the effects of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Glasgow has found that while traffic flow has remained largely unchanged since the Zone was enforced, air quality has improved. 

The study, undertaken by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Auckland and University College Dublin, gathered hourly data from traffic sensors and air quality monitors in the city’s busy Hope Street and High Street within the LEZ to produce figures for the daily average NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide). Meteorological data, provided by the UK Met Office, factored in the wind effect on NO2 dispersal. 

The study found a statistically significant reduction in traffic flow on High Street during weekdays, resulting in notable decreases in normalised NO2 levels of between 25%-27%. A 35% drop of NO2 on weekends was also observed. 

In contrast, traffic patterns on Hope Street remained stable, yet statistically significant decreases in NO2 levels of between 9-13% on weekdays were still observed, suggesting the establishment of the LEZ discourages high emission vehicles in the city centre and helps improve air quality. 

Co-author of the paper, Qunshan Zhao, Professor in Urban Analytics in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said: 

“These early results indicate that while traffic reductions and the decrease of the high emission vehicles in some parts of the city may be contributing to improved air quality, other factors may also play a role. The findings highlight the need for continued monitoring to better understand the LEZ’s long-term impact on both traffic and pollution levels across Glasgow. Paired traffic sensors and air quality sensors can be set up to help further understand the relationships between traffic flows and air quality variations.” 

In common with other large UK cities, Glasgow has high traffic volumes from both private vehicles and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). In 2021 alone, the city had nearly 240,000 licensed vehicles, according to the Department for Transport Statistics. The resulting congestion led to elevated emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates from vehicle-related activities such as tailpipe emissions, brake wear, tyre wear, and road abrasion. 

Responding to growing concerns about traffic-related air pollution, Glasgow City Council introduced a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in the city centre on 1 June 2023 with the aim of reducing pollution by restricting access to vehicles that do not meet strict emissions standards. 

There are currently Clean Air Zones and Low Emission Zones in the following UK cities: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Oxford, Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Sheffield, Southampton, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Food Standards Agency (FSA), in collaboration with Food Standards Scotland (FSS), have been awarded £1.6 million in funding to launch a programme for cell-cultivated products (CCPs) to make sure they are safe for consumers to eat before they are approved for sale.

CCPs are new foods made without using traditional farming methods such as rearing livestock or growing plants and grains. Using science and technology, cells from plants or animals are grown in a controlled environment to make a food product.  

The UK is one of the largest potential markets for CCPs in Europe but currently, there aren’t any approved for human consumption here. This is because CCPs are new, complex and unlike anything previously available in the UK.

The funding is being awarded from Government’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund (EBSF) to launch an innovative sandbox programme for cell-cultivated products (CCPs). 

For the two-year sandbox program, FSA and FSS will recruit a new team for the purpose of gathering scientific evidence on cell-cultured foods and the technology used for their production. The information gathered will be used to inform evidence-based recommendations and address questions before any cell-based foods are allowed to enter the UK market, and will help FSA/FSS guide industry on how to safely produce these foods and demonstrate the safety of the foods.

The sandbox program will also facilitate pre-application support to cell-based food manufacturers and answer their questions on labeling and other considerations. It will enable FSA/FSS to process cell-based food applications more quickly and better support businesses. The program will also aid the development of approaches that can be applied to other innovative foods.

Two councils in England seized imported American cereal, candy, crisps, and drinks during operations.

More than 600 items on sale at an Oxford Street candy shop, including American cereal, crisps, and fizzy drinks have been sent to the incinerator after being seized by Westminster City Council’s Environmental Health team.

Meanwhile, In a different operation, trading standards officers at Staffordshire County Council seized illegal foods and drinks from a shop in Leek in October.

In the Westminster City Council raid, several of the chocolate bars were not labelled in English, in addition, Trading Standards teams also uncovered illicit Lucky Charms Cereal, KitKats, Lion Bars and a variety of bottled drinks including Mirinda and Fanta all containing banned ingredients. The 676 items, valued at £2852.75, were confiscated in a raid from 6^th September and will now be incinerated.

It is the latest raid on the same premises which was previously found to be selling Swedish Fish and Hot Tamales sweets, which are banned in the UK due to the impact their additive ingredients can have on children. In the last three months alone, 2,374 non-compliant products were destroyed from this premises.

Following the seizure, council staff attended Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday 1^st October where it the destruction of good was ordered and £3110.25 was awarded.  The business is also required to pay for the destruction.

In Staffordshire, more than 750 items of Imported American candy and drinks containing unauthorised substances were seized along with 4 kg of illicit Tobacco,  5,240 Cigarettes and 88 illegal Vapes.

Products confiscated included Mountain Dew, Dubble Bubble, Jolly Rancher gummies and hard candy, all containing ingredients unauthorised in the UK, such as mineral oil, bleached flour or colourants.  Many of the soft drinks seized contain EDTA, known to be linked to kidney failure.

 Do you know about house construction? Are you an architect, EHO, building/quantity surveyor or suchlike?  We are currently looking to add to our team of housing surveyors to join the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) team.  

The SHCS is part of the largest national survey in Scotland. It provides national estimates on the condition and energy efficiency of homes in Scotland as well as Fuel Poverty. It is commissioned by the Scottish Government and is currently carried out by Ipsos, an independent research organisation. 

Our team conduct internal and external inspections of residential properties across Scotland, collecting data on property characteristics, construction, amenities, energy efficiency, and disrepair.  

The role is part-time and flexible. We provide full training and competitive pay. We are looking for applicants with a well-developed level of technical building knowledge and who hold the minimum of an ONC/HNC (or equivalent) in a related field and have a full UK driving license.   

For further info and an application form or for an informal chat about the role, please email the survey director, Murray Petrie at murraypetrie46@gmail.com

 We are particularly keen to grow the team who can undertake surveys in Edinburgh, Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, Stirling, Perth and Kinross, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian and West Dunbartonshire.

A review of the Food Law Rating System in Scotland that combined food hygiene and food standards inspections has been published.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) commissioned IFF Research to conduct an evaluation of the Food Law Rating System (FLRS).

Most local authorities and stakeholders agree with the thinking behind the FLRS and believe it to be a logical thing to do. 

However, they identified that the increased frequency of visits under the FLRS compared to the previous system was presenting a more significant issue. A widely expressed view was that the resource intensity of the FLRS was far in excess of what was anticipated when the system was designed.

The increased resource intensity has been a major challenge for local authorities in implementing the FLRS. It comes against a backdrop of existing staff shortages in the sector, backlogs of work created by the Covid-19 pandemic and challenging conditions for food businesses creating more work for officers.

The impact of the FLRS demanding more resource than is available is that it is not currently working as intended – backlogs are building up and few are confident that they will be able to keep up with the frequency of visits outlined by the performance ladder. Many feared that because of this there could be a reduction in compliance levels among medium-risk businesses and those who are currently broadly compliant, due to a lack of scrutiny.

It is clear, in these circumstances, that a review of the inspection frequencies outlined in the performance ladder is needed – and some would also like to see amendments made to the bandings used to categorise certain types of businesses. In addition, looking at how FHIS and FLRS might fit together was felt to be worthwhile.

The FLRS was introduced in Scotland as part of the Interventions Food Law Code of Practice (Scotland) 2019. The FLRS combines the rating systems for food hygiene and food standards by which food businesses and food producers are assessed into one regime based upon a new Food Business Performance Model.

This evaluation set out to understand if the FLRS has achieved what it was designed to deliver and to uncover lessons learned, with a view to informing future development of the food law enforcement delivery model.

Qualitative interviews took place with authorised food officers in all 32 Scottish local authorities and 8 stakeholders (including current and former FSS staff as well as representatives of industry and professional bodies).

A Glasgow-based outdoor activity company has been sentenced for health and safety failings which led to the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy on the River Tay.

Outdoor Pursuits Scotland Ltd pled guilty to a breach of health and safety legislation at Perth Sheriff Court on 21 October 2024 and were fined £10,000.

The company’s failings led to the death of Kayden Walker after he was separated from his board during a river boogie boarding session on the River Tay, near the village of Stanley, Perthshire on 28 July 2019. 

Kayden, from Bridgeton, Glasgow drowned after becoming trapped on the upstream side of a weir while on a day trip with the Church House community group.  

Kayden, whose activity consent form stated that he was unable to swim ten metres without the assistance of a flotation device, was the last child to go over the weir between two Church House employees. All Outdoor Pursuit Scotland’s instructors were below the weir at that time. 

The community group employees turned to face upstream after negotiating the weir but were unable to see Kayden whose board had resurfaced near them. 

A company instructor, realising that something was wrong, went to the top of the weir and reached into the water where he had last seen Kayden.  

He found Kayden an arm’s length underwater and attempted to pull him out, but the water was too powerful and prevented him doing so.  

After around three and a half minutes he eventually managed to free him. The force of the water carried Kayden down the weir where the company’s director caught him and immediately started to perform CPR. Adults within the group of 17 contacted the emergency services.  

A Scottish Ambulance Service helicopter flew Kayden to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. He was then transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children at Glasgow where he died the following day, 29 July 2019.  

An investigation by Perth and Kinross Council found that the company’s risk assessment for river boarding did not have adequate health and safety control measures in place. 

Further investigation by the Crown included taking opinion from a water activities expert.  

The expert’s view was that the company should have always had one instructor directly below and one instructor in a kayak above the weir until all the group members had successfully negotiated the rapid. 

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: 

“Kayden Walker was a happy, friendly, and much-loved child who enjoyed helping younger children within his church group.  

“The measures Outdoor Pursuits Scotland Ltd had in place were insufficient to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of participants, and in particular non-swimmer Kayden Walker. 

“Kayden’s tragic death could have been prevented had the company ensured a safe system of work was in place to allow participants to safely negotiate the weir. 

“This should serve as a warning to others who run outdoor and water activity business. A failure to manage the risk in such ventures can have devastating consequences. 

“My thoughts are with Kayden’s family and friends at this difficult time.” 

The Scottish Government has published an independent analysis of the responses to the consultation on the national Good Food Nation plan. The report presents the findings from the public consultation and explains the methodology that was used to analyse the responses.

The Good Food Nation Team have been using the responses to the consultation to help inform the national Good Food Nation Plan, including amending the draft to reflect the feedback received in the consultation. The amended draft will be laid before the Scottish Parliament for their consideration and comment. This will be accompanied by a statement outlining the steps taken to consult, and how the responses have been considered. The Scottish Parliament will have an opportunity to consider and comment on the draft Plan before final publication.  

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 places duties on Scottish Ministers to produce a national Good Food Nation (GFN) Plan of their policies in relation to food. This first draft national Plan represents how the Scottish Government (SG) intends to use the powers and levers it has to work collectively with people, communities, businesses, agencies and organisations to meet GFN ambitions. These plans will also have to set out the main Outcomes to be achieved in relation to food-related issues, the policies needed to do this and the measures that will be used to assess progress.

Further information on the consultation analysis is available online here.

The 2023 Annual Reports for Private Water Supplies has been published by Scotland’s Drinking Water Quality Regulator.

In 2023, the data provided to the DWQR by local authorities showed that there are 23,034 private supplies in Scotland, with an increase of 205 from 22,829 supplies reported during 2022. This data shows that around 3.5% of the Scottish population rely on a private water supply. However this figure is an underestimate of the population served, as it does not include the large number of visitors to commercial premises including tourists; employees; and consumers of products supplied by food premises.

The majority of PWS are located in rural areas, though some are located in areas where there is a public supply of water available. Highland Council has the most Regulated supplies, and Aberdeenshire has by far the largest number of PWS overall.

The information provided by local authorities for this report shows that compliance by both local authorities and PWS owners and users must get better. This will involve a greater emphasis by owners and users of PWS to maintain and improve their supplies; and for local authorities to prioritise PWS sampling and risk assessment to protect public health.

Recent legislation to licence short term let properties in Scotland has led to a rise in Regulated supplies across the country, and local authorities are progressing in processing this increase in supplies based on public health need. The increase in PWS reported in 2023 is partly due to the registration of these properties. This makes year-on-year comparisons difficult as the amount of supplies does not remain static.

Compliance with the requirement to sample all Regulated supplies annually has decreased across Scotland from 66% in 2022 to 65% in 2023. A notable drop in performance was observed in the Argyll and Bute Council area, where compliance dropped from 96% to 59% (although their Regulated supplies have increased from 522 to 764). Compliance from Perth and Kinross Council also fell from 72% in 2022 to 55%. Highland and Dumfries and Galloway Councils have both slightly increased their compliance, and Scottish Borders and Aberdeenshire Councils have been consistent with good compliance.

In 2023 the parameter with most failures was coliform bacteria, with 21.2% of samples failing this test. Coliform bacteria are present in soil and the environment, so these failures show the lack of effective treatment on many private water supplies. This demonstrates why it is important for local authorities to continue to risk assess and test supplies, and for owners and users to maintain their treatment.

Integrating Action on Air Quality & Climate Change: A Guide for Local Authorities been produced by the Institution of Environmental Sciences’ Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC). It is intended to support local authorities and others to take more effective action on transport and the built environment, and deliver larger benefits and fewer unintended consequences for the climate, air quality and health.

It includes information on:

·       The importance of integrating air quality and climate change policy

·       How local authorities can develop an integrated approach

·       23 measures that local authorities can take on transport, built environment, waste and procurement, including specific actions, support mechanisms and case studies

The guidance has been compiled by expert EPIC members, many of whom play a leading role in formulating and implementing air quality and climate change policy locally. It has been reviewed by numerous external experts from local government, academia, industry and NGOs, and is also published on Defra’s Air Quality Hub.

Integrating Action on Air Quality & Climate Change: A Guide for Local Authorities can be accessed here.

MSPs unanimously voted in the Scottish Parliament to approve the Scottish Government’s draft Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 which will enable Scotland to become the first of the four countries in the UK to officially ban disposable e-cigarettes.

Similar country-specific regulations are anticipated to be considered in the Senedd, Stormont and Westminster, with the aim of delivering a UK-wide ban of single-use vapes from 1 April 2025.

The draft legislation – which is open for consultation until 8 March – is being taken forward in Scotland using powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The age limit for buying tobacco would also change under UK government plans.

Separate legislation has been introduced by each nation on banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes.

Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of health charity ASH Scotland, said: “We congratulate cross-party MSPs for taking leading action by voting unanimously to enable Scotland to become the first nation in the UK to ban health and environmental harming single-use vapes.

“With disposable recreational e-cigarettes, which are the product of choice for the majority of children who vape, containing high levels of addictive nicotine as well as toxic chemicals that have not been safety tested for inhalation, ASH Scotland welcomes the ban as a vital stride forward towards protecting both Scotland’s environment and the health of our young people now and future generations.”

Circular Economy Minister, Lorna Slater said the Scottish government was committed to reducing vaping among non-smokers and young people as well as tackling their environmental impact.

She said: “The public consultation [Creating a Smoke-free Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping] demonstrated that there is strong support for tougher action on vaping.

“From causing fires in waste facilities to more than 26 million disposable vapes being consumed and thrown away in Scotland in the past year, single-use vapes are a threat to our environment as well as to our public health.

“These proposed changes to the law demonstrate our absolute commitment to further improve the wellbeing of communities and protecting our beautiful natural environment.”

The Scottish government will also bring forward UK-wide plans to increase the age for purchasing tobacco, making it illegal for anyone born after 1 January 2009 to buy the product.

This will be brought forward through UK-wide legislation, with a legislative consent motion then needed in Scotland.

The minimum price per unit of alcohol will increased by 15 pence on 30 September .

MSPs previously voted to continue the public health measure which had been scheduled to end automatically on 30 April as part of a ‘sunset clause’ when Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) legislation was introduced in 2018.

They also voted to introduce a price increase, with a rise to 65p per unit chosen as the Scottish Government seeks to increase the positive effects of the policy and to take account of inflation.

Research conducted by Public Health Scotland and the University of Glasgow estimated that MUP had reduced alcohol-attributable deaths by 13.4% – 156 a year – and was likely to have reduced hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1% up to the end of 2020 compared to what would have happened if MUP had not been in place.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said:

“Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to reducing health inequalities.

“Experts wrote to The Lancet, describing Public Health Scotland’s evaluation of minimum unit pricing as ‘high-quality’ and ‘comprehensive’, and expressing confidence that there are several hundred people with low income in Scotland who are alive today as a result of this policy.

“However, the Scottish Government is determined to do all it can to reduce alcohol-related harm and as part of that, I am working to ensure people with problematic alcohol use receive the same quality of care and support as those dealing with problematic drugs use. We have also made a record £112 million available to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to deliver or commission treatment and support services locally, as well as investing £100 million in residential rehabilitation.

“I have also asked that Public Health Scotland is commissioned to review evidence and options for reducing exposure to alcohol marketing.”