FHRS ‘Brand Standard’ (Revision 3) – ensuring a consistent approach

1. Food Team briefing FHRS ‘Brand Standard’ (Revision 3) – ensuring a consistent approach

2. What does the briefing cover? • Which businesses should be rated? • How does the scoring & mapping work? • When and what needs to be notified to food businesses? • What goes on the website? • How does the appeal process work? • What does ‘right to reply’ involve? • How does the requested re-visits safeguard work? • How can we ensure consistency? • Any questions or comments?

3. Which businesses should be rated? Follow the decision tree and answer the key questions Key question Is the establishment subject to registration requirements or is it an approved establishment with a retail element? Excluded from scope - no food hygiene rating No Yes Next key question

4. Which businesses should be rated? Which businesses should be rated? Follow the decision tree and answer the key questions Examples Primary producers, manufacturers, packers, importers and exporters, distributors (including wholesalers), transporters, and other inter-business suppliers. Key question Does the establishment supply food directly to consumers for consumption on or off the premises? Excluded from scope – no food hygiene rating No Examples Restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, sandwich shops, B&Bs, guest houses, hotels, mobile traders, market stalls and occasional markets, supermarkets, fruit & vegetable shops, off-licences, schools, nurseries and residential care homes, armed forces, police and Crown establishments, wholesalers or cash & carries selling food direct to consumers, other places that people eat food prepared outside of the home. Yes Next key question

5. Which businesses should be rated? Follow the decision tree and answer the key questions Examples Visitor centres & similar establishments selling tins of biscuits or other wrapped goods amongst a range of goods, leisure centres with only food vending machines (with only drinks or low-risk foods), newsagents selling only pre-packed confectionery, chemist shops, off licences selling only drinks and wrapped goods.. Key question Is the establishment 'low-risk' and not generally recognised by consumers as being a food businesses? Yes No food hygiene rating Important change to Revision 3 Businesses in this category can no longer ‘opt in’ to the FHRS. No Next key question

6. Which businesses should be rated? Follow the decision tree and answer the key questions Key question Is the establishment operating from a private address? Key question Is the establishment a childminder or are other caring services being provided in the home environment as part of a family unit ? Yes Yes No food hygiene rating Important change to Revision 3 Businesses in this category can no longer ‘opt in’ to the FHRS. No No Give food hygiene rating

7. How does the scoring & mapping work? • Basis – Annex 5 of Code of Practice • level of (current) compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures • level of (current) compliance with structural requirements • confidence in management/control procedures • Brand Standard has descriptions of standards that might be expected for each Annex 5 score - Section 3: Scoring • Rating at inspection, partial inspection or audit (only exception is requested re-visits) • Ratings cannot be given on the basis of self-assessment questionnaires

8. How does the scoring & mapping work? Multi-site businesses • In assessing ‘confidence in management’ at multi-site business outlets, both company-wide management systems and procedures and the implementation locally form part of any assessment. • Where there is a Primary Authority Agreement, enforcing authorities should have regard to any Primary Authority Inspection Plan so that HACCP-based procedures are not subject to unnecessary further assessment. • Local implementation of the HACCP-based procedures should be considered in the same way as for independent ‘single outlet’ businesses.

9. How does the scoring & mapping work?

10. How does the scoring & mapping work? Examples

11. When and what needs to be notified to food businesses? When? • At the time of the intervention OR after but without undue delay and within 14 days of the intervention • Our policy is to [include policy] What information? • Food hygiene rating • Details of why it was rated as it was • If less than a 5, the actions needed to achieve compliance for each of the three Annex 5 elements • Indication of when the rating will be published • Information on the safeguards including a weblink to food.gov.uk/ratings • Contact details

12. When and what needs to be notified to food businesses? What display material? • A sticker should be provided at the time of intervention or with the notification of the rating • Certificates should no longer be issued. • Unless the ‘new’ rating is a 5, ‘old’ stickers should not be removed as the ’old’ rating remains valid until the end of the appeal period Important change to Revision 3 Certificates are no longer part of the FHRS and should not be provided to businesses

13. What goes on the website? Operation Examples Status tag Does not supply direct to consumers Manufacturers, packers, exporters Excluded Supplies consumers direct, is rated, and can publish full address Supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, pubs, hospitals, schools Included Supplies consumers direct, is rated, but sensitivities about publishing full address Home caterers and mobile traders Included and private Supplies consumers direct but not rated as ‘low risk’ and not recognised as a food business, and can publish full address Visitor centres selling biscuits, newsagents selling only pre-packed confectionary Exempt

14. What goes on the website? Operation Examples Status tag Supplies consumers direct, is rated but sensitivities about publishing any address Military establishments, child-minders and other caring services provided in home environments Sensitive Supplies consumers direct but not rated as ‘low risk’ and not recognised as a food business, but sensitivities about publishing full address Exempt and private Businesses that have yet to receive an inspection and to be given a rating Awaiting inspection Businesses that have yet to receive an inspection and to be given a rating and where there are sensitivities in about publishing full address information Awaiting inspection and private

15. What goes on the website? Status tags Excluded Nothing Included Business name and full address LAEMS business category Date of inspection OR date of revised food hygiene rating Food hygiene rating OR revised food hygiene rating OR ‘awaiting inspection’ OR ‘awaiting publication’ Included and private Business name and partial address LAEMS business category Date of inspection OR date of revised food hygiene rating Food hygiene rating OR revised food hygiene rating OR ‘awaiting inspection’ OR ‘awaiting publication’

16. What goes on the website? Exempt Business name and full address LAEMS business category ‘Exempt’ in place of a food hygiene rating Exempt and private • Business name and partial address • LAEMS business category • ‘Exempt’ in place of a food hygiene rating Sensitive Nothing Business name and full address LAEMS business category ‘Awaiting inspection’ in place of a food hygiene rating Awaiting inspection Awaiting inspection and private Business name and partial address – local authority name and first part of postcode only LAEMS business category ‘Awaiting inspection’ in place of a food hygiene rating

17. How does the appeals process work? • FBO can appeal if s/he considers rating is unjust • Try to resolve informally first • Appeals must be lodged within 14 days of date of notification of rating • Appeals should be determined by Lead Officer for Food or deputy, or an officer from another authority • Applies to ratings at planned interventions and ratings given at requested re-visits/re-inspections • Template forms available • If FBO remains dissatisfied s/he can challenge by judicial review

18. How does the appeals process work? Inspection, partial inspection, or audit or requested re-inspection/re-visit No ‘appeal’ lodged within 14 days of notification FBO notified of rating at time of intervention or within 14 days FBO disputes rating and raises matter with ‘inspecting’ officer ‘food hygiene rating’ published Dispute resolved Shown as ‘awaiting publication’ FBO still disputes rating and appeals within 14 days of date of notification Appeal determined and decision communicated to FBO within 7 days

19. What does ‘right to reply’ involve? • Provides FBO with an opportunity: • explain unusual circumstances at time of inspection • highlight actions taken since inspection to improve standards • May submit electronically or in writing – template forms available • LA reviews text and edits to remove offensive, defamatory or clearly inaccurate or irrelevant remarks • LA should process and publish as soon as possible and without undue delay • Comments published at food.gov.uk/ratings

20. How does the requested revisits safeguard work? • FBOs can request a revisitwhen improvements identified at inspection have been made • Revisits between three and six months after inspection and generally unannounced • Only one revisit between planned interventions • If inspection/partial inspection/audit, the risk rating also changed • Ratings may go up, down or remain the same • Template form available

21. How can we ensure consistency? • Operate our FHRS consistency framework • Apply the FHRS ‘Brand Standard’ • Implement FSA ‘Top tips’ • Monitoring and auditing • Training requirements and participation in consistency exercises • Officer competency • Food business database management • Carrying out inspections and other interventions • Interpretation of Annex 5 • Maintenance of intervention records and correspondence • Service monitoring and related record keeping • Operation of FHRS safeguards

22. How can we ensure consistency? Top tips • Increasing FHRS visibility • Ensuring a fair and consistent approach • Improving data accuracy • Business growth • Multi-site outlets and primary authorities

23. How can we ensure consistency? Consistent scoring • Take account of the basic principles for applying Annex 5 of the Food Law Code of Practice • Regularly review and discuss cases within the Food Team meetings • Participate in FSA Annex 5 consistency training and other relevant training and cascade the learning • If there is a Primary Authority agreement, make sure any Primary Authority inspection plan is followed

24. How can we ensure consistency? Consistent and accurate data • Check records on the database each time a new rating is given to ensure the LAEMS category is correct (see examples/definitions in the guidance at http://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/monitoring/laems/generalinfo/) • Check status tags are correct (child-minders should always have a ‘sensitive’ status) • Check that the business name is still correct and that the address details are up to date and the full postcode is included • Upload data to FSA system as regularly as possible but at least every 27 days • If notified of possible errors on business details by Transparency Data (Scores on the Doors), only make appropriate amendments to your own database system

25. How can we ensure consistency? Consistent messages for businesses • Explain the improvements needed under the three Annex 5 headings • Use the FSA template letters for notifying ratings and template letters and forms for dealing with safeguards. • Use FSA leaflets

26. Any questions or comments? • Any questions? • Any comments on the Brand Standard to feed back to the Food Hygiene Ratings Team at the FSA?