Local Authority Audit Summary Reports
Audit Summary Reports summarise the audit of local authority food and feed official controls in England, including key findings and improvements.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) audits local authority (LA) feed and food law enforcement services to support consistent and effective official controls.
LAs are responsible for enforcing most UK legislation relating to feed and food safety, hygiene, composition, labelling, imported food and feeding stuffs. Environmental Health and Trading Standards services usually carry out these regulatory functions.
The audits assess how well LAs meet the Feed and Food Law Enforcement Standard set out in the Framework Agreement on Official Feed and Food Controls by LAs. They also assess whether LAs comply with the Food Law Code of Practice and other relevant official guidance.
The FSA recognises that LAs may deliver their feed and food enforcement services in different ways. These differences can reflect local needs, priorities, organisational structures and available resources. However, all LAs must provide effective official controls and meet the relevant legal and centrally issued requirements.
The audit scheme aims to protect consumers and maintain public confidence in the food and feed enforcement system. It provides assurance that LAs have effective arrangements for delivering their responsibilities and that these arrangements are being implemented as intended.
Audits also help the FSA and LAs to:
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identify strengths and good practice
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identify areas where services need to improve
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promote greater consistency in the delivery of official controls
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support continuous improvement
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provide evidence to inform FSA policy and guidance
The FSA’s powers to set standards and monitor and audit feed and food law enforcement authorities come from the Food Standards Act 1999 and the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009. The FSA carries out audits of LAs under section 12(4) of the Food Standards Act 1999.
Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 requires competent authorities to carry out internal audits or arrange for external audits to be carried out. They must also take appropriate action in response to the results of those audits.
As the central competent authority for food and feed law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the FSA has established external audit arrangements to meet this requirement. These audits assess whether official controls and other official activities are being implemented effectively. They also consider whether the arrangements in place are suitable for achieving the objectives of the relevant legislation and official guidance.
In developing its audit arrangements, the FSA has taken account of the European Commission guidance on conducting audits under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. This guidance covers areas including audit planning, independence, transparency, reporting, follow-up and the review of audit results.
Further information about the purpose, principles and delivery of the FSA’s LA audit scheme is available in the FSA Regulatory Audit Charter.