The General Purposes Committee of Ealing Council met on Tuesday 23 June 2026. The meeting's agenda included a review of the Food and Health and Safety Service Plans for 2026-2027, and the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.

Food and Health and Safety Service Plans 2026-2027

A significant portion of the meeting was scheduled to be dedicated to the Food and Health and Safety Service Plans for 2026-2027. The report presented an overview of the activities planned by the Food and Workplace & Public Safety Teams. The committee was invited to scrutinise these plans.

The Food Service Plan for 2026-2027 outlines how the Council intends to fulfil its statutory duties as a Food Authority under the Food Safety Act 1990¹. Ealing has a large and complex food industry, with over 3,500 registered food premises. The plan details the proactive programmed interventions, including approximately 1,994 inspections, and forecasts anticipated reactive service demands such as dealing with non-compliance and food safety incidents. The report highlighted that in 2025-2026, the service delivered approximately 97% of its planned inspection programme, prioritising higher-risk premises. The plan also addresses challenges such as workforce pressures and the need to maintain advisory support following the cessation of UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding.

The Health and Safety Service Plan for 2026-2027 focuses on the enforcement of health and safety law across various workplaces within the borough, including offices, shops, warehouses, and hospitality venues. The plan details the team's aims to prevent accidents, injuries, and work-related illnesses. It outlines the approach to reactive work, such as investigating complaints and RIDDOR notifications, and proactive work, including targeted inspection campaigns on national and local priorities such as noise in the workplace, musculoskeletal disorders, and Legionella in spa pools. The report noted that the team is resourced to meet minimum statutory obligations, with potential challenges arising from significant incidents and the need to address non-compliance in sectors like shisha lounges.

The committee was to consider the Food Service Plans for 2026-2027 (Appendix 1) and the Health and Safety Service Plans for 2026-2027 (Appendix 2).

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The committee was also scheduled to consider the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 24 February 2026. The minutes from that meeting indicated discussions and decisions regarding polling place changes for the Local Council Elections on 7 May 2026, specifically for districts DR and YS.