On this page you will find information on which types of complaints we will or will not investigate in relation to food and health and safety.
Aim
To ensure that complaints are investigated and dealt with according to the level of risk they pose.
Policy
On receipt of a complaint, one of our officers will decide whether or not it merits investigation, based on their professional judgement and discretion and the following criteria:
- There is potential for significant risk to human health or safety
- The Council is the correct enforcing authority
- Sufficient evidence exists to support further investigation
If the complaint does not meet any one of these criteria the complaint will not investigated. We will write to you and explain why we are not investigating your complaint.
Anonymous complaints or complaints from a competing business will not be dealt with at all.
If in doubt, the officer will discuss the complaint with a Senior Environmental Health Practitioner or their line manager.
Examples of complaints meeting the significant risk criteria (probable likelihood of occurrence and serious consequence) include:
- Sightings of rodents or cockroaches in a food businesses
- Work activity that caused or is likely to result in a major injury or serious ill health
- Potential release of asbestos in non-domestic premises
- More than one independent allegation of food poisoning
Examples of complaints where officers may, in the absence of the main criteria, choose to use discretion and investigate include:
- Incidents relating to inspection programmes
- Incidents involving activities or processes that could enhance knowledge and understanding
- Training of Inspectors
Complaints not investigated will still be recorded on our database and will then be used to inform future intervention selection criteria for that premises.