Decision details

Ipswich Borough Council currently have 400 overdue food hygiene inspections. This is because of the COVID pandemic when the Food Standards Agency directed Local Authorities to suspend their routine

inspection work to enable them to focus on infection control.

Subsequently a government grant of £50,000 was secured to deliver COVID recovery work. This funding is eligible to be used to carry out food hygiene inspections, but expenditure must happen before 31^st March 2023.

The Council requires appropriately qualified food safety contractors to undertake these overdue food hygiene inspections to enable the authority to comply with the requirements of the Food Standards Agency. Procurement have been unsuccessful in securing suitable contractors through the Councils

preferred supplier. It is not possible to complete a full procurement process and complete the work to be able to use the available funding.

To waive contract standing orders under Contract Standing order para 3.10.1

to ensure that a specialist agency can be approached to source appropriate and suitable contractors within a short timescale.

Reason:

To carry out the COVID recovery work within the short timescale to avoid the financial loss of the grant. If the exemption from contract standing orders had not been made, the funding to secure a contractor would have been lost and Ipswich Borough Council would continue to carry a backlog of inspections.

The Council would not be able to fulfil the Statutory Requirements of the Food Law Code of Practice until further resource was available.