Agenda item

The Community Environmental Manager, WRS present the Activity and Performance Report, Quarter 3, 2025/2026.

The detail of the report focused on the third quarter of 2025/2026, but the actual data allowed comparison with previous quarters and previous years.

As detailed in the report, although the number of food complaints and enquiries had fallen during quarter 3, the overall number of food safety cases received during the year to date was 14% up compared to last year and 11% above the figure in 2023/24.

Of the 1,149 interventions undertaken during the year to date, only 4% had resulted in businesses being rated as "non-compliant" (i.e., were issued a rating of 0, 1, or 2). A higher proportion of non-compliant ratings continued to be issued to the hospitality sector (such as takeaways and restaurants) or small retailers.

Health and safety complaints and enquiries remained on trend in quarter 3 but reported accidents fell, meaning the overall number of such cases received during the year to date was 4% lower than last year but was broadly comparable with 2024/25. Almost half of cases had been reports of accidents in workplaces with most cases relating to injuries where a worker was incapacitated for more than seven days or injuries to members of the public. Sadly, the service had had to investigate three fatalities this year, the most recent one being an incident where a member of the public had drowned in a privately run swimming pool.

There had been an on-going Community Environmental Health (CEH) involvement following the discovery of a rodent infestation and food product recall in respect of a retail warehouse in Kidderminster. Following the voluntary closure of the premises, legal proceedings were instigated for food hygiene offences. The company entered a guilty plea and were sentenced in December 2025. The Chief Executive of the FSA had expressed their thanks to the WRS team for the way in which this had been successfully dealt with.

As detailed in the report, the fall in nuisance complaints through quarter 3 mirrored previous seasonal patterns, usually reflecting the shift to autumnal weather. As further highlighted, the vast majority of cases were reports of alleged statutory nuisances, with 42% relating to noise from residential properties (such as noise from barking dogs or audio-visual equipment). Other prominent alleged nuisances included noise from night-time economy businesses, noise from other hospitality businesses, smoke from the burning of domestic or commercial waste, and with the dryness of last summer, noise or dust from construction sites.

Business customer satisfaction was marginally above the last quarter at 95.2%, slightly below the figure this time last year (96.8%) but was still well above previous year’s 92% at the same point in the year. So far, 131 responses had been received. One question had fewer responses than the others, making one or two negatives more impactful. Beyond this, speed of response and not giving the response that gave people the outcome that they had hoped for seemed to be the main issue.

Overall numbers of compliant and non-compliant food businesses were at 98.5% and 1.5% respectively. This remained good and on a par with previous years.

The ratio of compliments to complaints remained good at 45 to 10.

Staff sickness had increased from 3.04 days per FTE to 4.56 days per FTE cumulative for the year. This was the highest that sickness had been for some time and above the figures for the same period in the previous 3 years (2.94, 2.44, 2.94). Whilst cold and flu viruses had been worse this year compared to last year, over 77% of sick days recorded fell into the long-term category (i.e., members of staff being off for 28 days plus.) Members had previously been made aware that one or two WRS officers were yet to recover from serious illness and remained absent.

Members raised a number of questions, as follows:-

·       Stray dogs with canine parvovirus – who bears the vet costs?

·       XL Bully ban – were we seeing an end to XL bullies?

·       Microchipping – information  on dogs reunited with their owners, dogs not chipped or information on their microchip not being kept up to date and action taken.

·       Homes for Ukraine – Members expressed their thanks to the officers commitment and the level of support received. Was this level of support extended to all refugees?

·       Infection control – mosquitos.

·       Enforcement Information.

In response officers explained that it was not always known if a stray dog had canine parvovirus. The charity that rehomed stray dogs that were not reunited with their owners, covered any necessary vet bills prior to rehoming. The kennels used by WRS for stray dogs had a very strict cleansing routine, as did the dog wardens for the vans they used.

With regard to XL bullies, there were still areas with a high rate of XL bullies with the dog wardens taking at least one a month.

The funding secured for the Home for Ukraine scheme had been extended to 2026/2027. The funding was for Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils only and for refugees from the Ukraine only. The Technical Services Manager, WRS informed Members that more hosts were needed for this scheme.

The Director, WRS, stated that there was a broad range of enforcement undertaken by WRS and collating and providing information on all aspects of enforcement would be very time consuming for officers. Therefore, he would appreciate Members contacting him to request any specific information they required with regards to enforcement matters.

The Technical Services Manager, WRS further added that planning enforcement information had been presented to both Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils and that a further enforcement activity report would be presented to both Councils.

The Technical Services Officer, WRS also explained that microchipping was a priority in the WRS Service Plan 2026/2027. 30% of dogs were found to be unchipped, with a significant proportion of unchipped dogs being found in worryingly poor health conditions. The numbers varied between Districts. On average about 50% of dogs were reunited with their owners, again this varied across the Districts. When owners came forward for their dogs, they had to complete a certain number of checks before being reunited with their dogs. Members were made aware that in the UK  it was a legal requirement under the ‘Control of Dogs Order’ for dogs to wear a collar with an ID tag showing the owner’s name and address. The WRS Communications Officer also liaised with vets and signage was placed in veterinary practices reminding dogs owners to microchip their dogs and to ensure that their information on the microchips was kept up to date.

WRS had held a number of microchipping event in South Worcestershire, with funding secured through the Community Safety Partnership. Sadly, these events were poorly attended. Members were however reassured that as from 1st April 2026 officers would be picking up on microchipping and dog tag enforcement; with officers pursuing and prosecuting where evidence was available and the public interest test was met.

In response to a question with regard to the Neighbourhood and Tenancy Team at Redditch Borough Council and microchipping, the Technical Services Manager, WRS commented that he would consider as to how WRS could engage with the Tenancy Officers about any concerns they had in respect of dogs in premises that they visited.

The Director, WRS explained that there was currently no requirement for local authorities to control invasive mosquitos. However, as detailed on page 92 of the main agenda pack, WRS Community Environmental Health, with its infection control role had volunteered to support the invasive mosquito surveillance efforts being coordinated by the Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology Team (MEZE) at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Members thanked officers for their detailed responses to the questions and concerns raised.

Members also briefly referred to the ‘Agent of Change Principle’ in the newly revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Director, WRS acknowledged that this was of paramount importance and a very important principle for officers and Members involved in the planning process.

RESOLVED that the Activity and Performance Data Quarter 3, 2025/26 be noted and that Members used the contents of the report in their own reporting back to their respective partner authority.