The Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board was scheduled to consider a report on the Regulator of Social Housing's improvement plan and receive a briefing on the challenges and measures within the Food Safety Service. The meeting was also scheduled to address standard procedural items.

Regulator of Social Housing – Improvement Plan

The Board was scheduled to receive a report from the Director of Communities regarding an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing. This inspection, conducted in 2025, assessed the Council's compliance with new mandatory Consumer Standards introduced in April 2024, which cover safety and quality, transparency, influence and accountability, neighbourhood and community, and tenancy. The Council had received a grade of C3, indicating serious failings and a need for significant improvement. Key areas of concern included a lack of reporting on consumer standard outcomes to senior officers or Councillors, insufficient assurance and verification of reported outcomes from housing providers, and particular failings related to the Safety and Quality standard. These failings included a lack of up-to-date stock condition information for one PFI contract, insufficient resources for the Council to independently verify provider information, and inconsistencies in reporting across contracts. Furthermore, there were identified failings in relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, such as a lack of meaningful opportunities for tenants to scrutinise service delivery and performance, and inconsistent approaches across contracts leading to potential inequalities in tenant engagement.

The report was scheduled to provide an update on the improvement plan process, which had been developed in conjunction with the Regulator. This plan had recently received approval, and engagement with providers was described as positive, with improvements already underway. A service redesign was also planned to increase staffing capacity for contract management and ensure compliance with Consumer Standards. A new Consumer Standards Improvement Board, including tenant representation, was scheduled to be established to sign off on completed actions. The Board was scheduled to note and discuss this information.

Food Safety - Service Delivery Briefing

A briefing was scheduled to outline the key challenges faced by the Food Safety Service and the control measures in place to ensure the Local Authority meets its statutory duties in enforcing food law. Oldham has approximately 2,025 registered food businesses, and the Commercial Protection Team is responsible for both food safety and food standards enforcement. Inspections are carried out on a risk priority basis, with higher-risk premises inspected more frequently.

The report was scheduled to detail that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had previously contacted the Council due to the number of overdue interventions and that an action plan was put in place to realign inspection frequencies. While the authority had been progressing well, and the FSA had reduced its engagement level to monitoring, the action plan remained in place with an objective for full realignment by March 2027.

Significant resource pressures were highlighted due to recruitment difficulties and staff vacancies, exacerbated by an increase in newly registered food businesses. The service had been unsuccessful in recruitment efforts and was using agency staff and overtime to maintain service delivery. To address the industry shortage of qualified Environmental Health Officers, the service had introduced a career-graded position and had a Regulatory Compliance Trainee.

The briefing was scheduled to present a table detailing the number of food hygiene inspections due for 2026/2027, including categories A through E, new food businesses, and overdue inspections, totalling 1,249 premises. Despite a 40% increase in food hygiene inspections carried out in 2025/2026 compared to the previous year, the delivery of all due interventions was considered a challenge with current resources and vacant posts. Funding from vacant posts was to be used for agency staff and overtime to ensure work completion, alongside ongoing recruitment efforts. Food Standards inspections were to be prioritised on a risk basis, with overdue inspections to be completed alongside food hygiene inspections.

The report was also scheduled to mention Oldham Council's participation in the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, where businesses receive a rating from zero to five. It was noted that the vast majority of food businesses in the Borough were compliant, with 93% achieving a rating of 3 or higher, and 74% holding the highest rating of 5. The service had carried out 8 voluntary closures and instigated legal proceedings against 5 businesses for poor food hygiene standards.

Previous Minutes

The Board was scheduled to approve the minutes of its previous meeting held on 19th March 2026. These minutes covered discussions on the Biodiversity Duty Report, an update on the Princes Gate development, consultation on the establishment of an Oldham Mayoral Development Corporation, the Work Programme, a Key Decision Document, and decisions made under Rules 13 and 14.