Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the implementation by Local Authorities of the Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme process from investigation to action.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is operated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The FSA monitors the operation of the Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme by local authorities to provide assurance as far as practical that it is operated consistently within and between authorities. Any issues identified are addressed with the relevant local authorities to ensure the scheme is delivered in line with the required standards. The FSA coordinates a regular national consistency exercise with local authorities to assess the consistent application of scoring at food hygiene inspections as required by the Food Law Code of Practice.