Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Food Standards Agency will report on the effects of the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings at food outlets in Wales.

The Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013 requires the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to review the implementation and operation of the scheme and produce a report for Welsh Minsters after the first year of the scheme, and then at three yearly intervals thereafter. The first report, which included an assessment of the positive impact of the scheme on compliance, was published on the National Assembly for Wales’ website in February 2015 and is available at:

http://www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/gen-ld10113%20-a%20report%20for%20the%20national%20assembly%20for%20wales%20review%20of%20the%20implementation%20and%20operation%20of%20the%20statutory%20food/gen-ld10113-e.pdf

A further update report was published in May 2015 and is available at:

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Update%20Report%20for%20the%20National%20Assembly%20for%20Wales%20-%20Implementation%20and%20Operation%20of%20the%20Food%20Hygiene%20Rating%20Scheme%20in%20Wales.pdf

The FSA is using the evidence from Wales to build a strong case for the mandatory display of ratings at food outlets in England, and is now exploring how a similar statutory scheme could be delivered in England, aligned with our wider regulatory reform approach. The Government will consider this evidence carefully once it is available.