West Sussex ready meal manufacturer Good Food 2 Go is taking advantage of a red tape cutting scheme by electing Horsham District Council as its Primary Authority.
The Primary Authority scheme commenced on April 6 last year. It allows businesses whose operations fall under the administration of more than one local council to form a statutory partnership with one of them. The selected council then orchestrates the regulatory tasks under its delegation – Health and safety, Age-restricted sales or Food safety and hygiene for example.
The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) looks after the scheme and says it reduces time and money spent on administration, and makes it simpler to deliver safe products to customers.
Under the partnership, Horsham District Council, acting as primary authority, will liaise with the other councils that Good Food 2 Go has premises within to ensure that inspection and enforcement action is efficient. It has worked with the company to produce a national inspection plan, giving guidelines to other councils to avoid unnecessary checks and tests.
Cabinet Member for Planning and the Environment, Peter Rowlinson said: “Being part of this partnership shows that regulatory services can work effectively with local businesses to reduce unnecessary burdens by being the single point of contact for their food safety regulatory needs.
“This brings mutual benefits through the supporting of economic prosperity and protecting our communities by ensuring public health and safety is as good as it should be. It will mean that regulation is much more efficient and will allow businesses to focus on delivering a successful service thanks to high quality advice from the Food Safety Team at Horsham District Council.”
Good Food 2 Go chairman, Steve Chamberlain, added: “I am absolutely delighted to be part of such a trail blazing scheme. It is so reassuring to know that we can work together with the enforcement team at Horsham to ensure that we are doing a everything we need to be doing at Good Food 2 Go to assure consistent standards of product quality, safety and legality.’’
There are now 21 Primary Authority partnerships in all which cover a raft of issues, including trading standards, environmental health and health and safety, and covering more than 14,600 business premises. Asda, Boots and B&Q are among those that have joined the scheme.
