REHIS News

Local Authorities in Scotland have dealt with more than 60,000 complaints about pests in local authority housing in the last three years. 

The figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats using Freedom of Information showed councils across Scotland reported the following number of complaints:

• 2016 – 22,236
• 2017 – 17,567
• 2018 – 21,365

Therefore, over the past three years a total of 61,168 complaints were received. 

A Nairn restaurant and take-away owner has been prosecuted by the Highland Council after officers from Environmental Health uncovered a catalogue of unsafe food hygiene practices.   

An inspection of the Al Raj Restaurant, in Harbour Street, Nairn was carried out on 21 September 2017 as part of Operation Hottah which is a multi-agency operation involving officers from Environmental Health, Police Scotland, Home Office Immigration Enforcement and HMRC. 

Children in deprived areas are exposed to significantly more tobacco sales than those from wealthier neighbourhoods. 

This was the finding of new collaborative research between the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, which was published in the journal Tobacco Control.

The researchers used GPS-trackers to follow a group of almost 700 10-and-11-year-olds from across Scotland. 

They found that children from the most deprived neighbourhoods encounter a shop selling tobacco 149 times a week, compared to just 23 times a week for the least deprived.

With less than a year to go until the establishment of Public Health Scotland, Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman has confirmed the appointment of Professor Jim McGoldrick, as Shadow Chair of Public Health Scotland.

Professor McGoldrick is current Convenor of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and a Board Member of the Care Inspectorate. He is also a Member of the Disability and Carer Benefits Expert Advisory Group.

A washing machine and tumble dryer are to be installed at a school in Glasgow following an infestation of bed bugs. 

St Bride's Primary is located in the Strathbungo area, which Glasgow City Council said had been affected by pest control issues for several years. 

The council said free to use washing and drying machines are to be installed in the school in the coming months to help tackle the issue and will be used to boil wash clothes of children whose families do not have available facilities.

The Scottish Government has announced that an independent review will be conducted in relation to reported health and safety concerns at two Coatbridge schools after water supply contamination fears.

The review, jointly agreed between the Scottish Government, North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire, is looking at specific health and safety concerns raised as well as the history, construction and maintenance of the site.

Several events took place on June 20 across Scotland to celebrate Clean Air Day.

Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign which takes place on 20 June every year and is coordinated by Environmental Protection Scotland in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The day, is supported by several organisations including Cleaner Air for Scotland (CAFS) strategy, Cycling Scotland, Energy Saving Trust Scotland, Greener Scotland, Health Protection Scotland, Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership, Sustrans and Transport Scotland.

The volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland in 2018 has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1994.

The first expert analysis of data, just over a year since Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing, shows a 3% fall in alcohol sales per adult in Scotland from the previous year.

The Scottish Government estimates that if trends continue its minimum unit pricing (MUP) strategy will save 392 lives over its first five years.

A multi-agency investigation is being carried out into cases of listeria infection in nine seriously ill hospital patients in England, five of whom have sadly died.  No infections have been found in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

On 14 June, Public Health England (PHE) announced the number of deaths related to pre-packed sandwiches and salads at hospitals had risen from three to five. It also announced the number of confirmed cases had risen from six to nine.

The UK government is consulting on plans to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid in the UK help prevent neural tube defects in foetuses.

The launch of the 12-week consultation follows years of campaigns urging the Government to make the fortification of flour mandatory.