Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) funding, and (2) staff resources, available to local authorities to undertake the necessary checks on food labelling; and whether they will ensure that those resources are ring-fenced for that purpose.

Local authorities (LAs) in the United Kingdom are competent authorities. It is for the cabinet of each authority to determine how their budget is spent based on statutory obligations, local priorities, and service demands.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) monitors the resources available to carry out food safety checks. Their report Our Food 2023 – An annual review of food standards in the UK notes that the number of Trading Standards Officers (TSOs) available in LAs to carry out food labelling checks has fallen considerably over the past decade. There were 182 fewer TSOs working in LAs across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 2023 compared to a decade ago, in 2012/13. Although the number of officers in LAs rose slightly during 2023, there was still a higher proportion of unfilled posts compared to pre-pandemic numbers. A copy of the report is attached.

The FSA has worked closely with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers to endorse a level 6 Trading Standards Practitioner apprenticeship. This has led to over 100 new people training in the first year. The FSA will continue to work across the Government and with the food sector to monitor the situation and to take appropriate action to ensure that food is safe.