9th Edition

Bassett's Environmental Health Procedures

By W.H. Bassett, Tim Deveaux Copyright 2020

    Environmental health law is a wide-ranging, detailed and complex body of law within the UK. Bassett’s Environmental Health Procedures is an established and essential reference source which provides an accessible entry into enforcement and administrative procedures for environmental health. The main legal procedures used in the environmental health field are presented as flow charts supported by explanatory text.

    This ninth edition refines the structure introduced in the eighth edition, with each chapter addressing a single topic. It has introduced the titles of the corresponding legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland where there is such legislation. The book has been updated throughout to reflect new practices, legislation and statutory guidance. Specifically, the ninth edition contains new content on antisocial behaviour and significant updates to sections on:

    • Enforcement and administration
    • Environmental protection
    • Food safety
    • Housing
    • Public health.

    Environmental health officers/practitioners and students will find this book invaluable. It will also be an essential reference for all those whose responsibilities demand they keep abreast of current environmental health practices.

    INTRODUCTION

    1. Environmental health law
    2. Enforcing authorities
    3. The framework for enforcement policies
    4. Local authority enforcement policies
    5. Company and organisation policies
    6. Enforcement options
    7. Covert surveillance
    8. Environmental Information Regulations 2004
    9. Delegation of authority
    10. Powers of entry
    11. Service of Notice by local authorities
    12. Authentication of documents
    13. Information regarding ownerships
    14. The commissioner for local administration (The Ombudsman)
    15. Further reading

    PUBLIC HEALTH ACTS

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Repairs to sewerage, drainage and sanitary conveniences

    4. Repairs of drains, private sewers etc by LA's
    5. Blocked private sewers
    6. Blocked drains, private sewers etc
    7. Overflowing leaking cesspools
    8. Defective sanitary conveniences
    9. Miscellaneous

    10. Closure or restriction of polluted water supply
    11. Licensing of camping sites
    12. Removal of noxious matter
    13. Accumulations of rubbish
    14. Cleansing of filthy or verminous premises

    BUILDING ACT 1984

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Drainage

    4. Defective drainage to existing buildings
    5. Paving of yards and passages
    6. Sanitary appliances

    7. Sanitary conveniences: provision/replacement
    8. Conversion of earth closets etc to water closets
    9. Miscellaneous

    10. Water supply for new homes
    11. Means of escape from certain buildings
    12. Defective premises
    13. Ruinous and defective buildings
    14. Demolition of buildings
    15. Dangerous buildings

    WATER INDUSTRY ACT 1991

    Water supply provisions

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Water supply

    4. Control over public water supplies
    5. Control over private water supplies
    6. Relaxations of quality standards for private water supplies
    7. Relaxations of quality standards for public water supplies

    PUBLIC HEALTH (CONTROL OF DISEASE) ACT 1984

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Key to powers available for the control of disease
    4. Powers available for the control of specific diseases
    5. Proper officer
    6. Notification of disease
    7. Cleansing and disinfection of premises and articles

    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1990 (WITH NOISE ACT 1996 AND THE CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS ACT 2005)

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Waste on Land

    3. Definitions
    4. Receptacles for household waste
    5. Receptacles for commercial and industrial waste
    6. Removal of controlled waste on land
    7. Statutory Nuisances

    8. Statutory Nuisances (including the Noise Act 1996)
    9. Seizure of equipment used to make noise unlawfully
    10. Noise from certain premises at night
    11. Audible alarm notification areas
    12. Litter

    13. Definitions
    14. Litter offences
    15. Litter abatement orders
    16. Litter abatement notices
    17. Litter clearing notices (LCN's)
    18. Street litter control notices
    19. Abandoned trolleys
    20. Dogs

    21. Seizure of stray dogs
    22. Dog control orders
    23. Crop residues

    24. Burning of crop residues
    25. Contaminated land

    26. The identification and remediation of contaminated land

    POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT 1999 WITH THE POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL (ENGLAND AND WALES) REGULATIONS 2000

    1. Integrated pollution and prevention and control (IPPC)
    2. General procedural provisions
    3. Permitting of activities by LA's
    4. Handling of commercially confidential information by LA's
    5. Transfer of permits
    6. Variations of permit conditions
    7. Surrender of permits
    8. Enforcement and suspension notices
    9. LA powers to prevent or remedy pollution
    10. Revocation of permits by LA
    11. Applications to LA to exclude commercially confidential information from public register

    ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. LA reviews of air quality
    3. Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA's)

    CLEAN AIR ACT 1993

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Smoke and Grit Etc

    4. Prohibition of dark smoke etc from industrial and trade premises (other than chimneys)
    5. Control of grit and dust from furnaces
    6. Chimney heights

    7. Height of chimneys servicing furnaces
    8. Height of chimneys not servicing furnaces
    9. Smoke control

    10. Smoke control areas
    11. Atmospheric pollution

    12. Obtaining information about atmospheric pollution

    CONTROL OF POLLUTION ACT 1974 (NOISE CONTROL PROVISIONS)

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Noise from construction sites
    4. Noise abatement zones : designation by LA's
    5. Noise abatement zones : measurement and registration of noise levels and consent to exceed them
    6. Noise abatement zones : noise level determinations for new buildings
    7. Noise abatement zones : noise reduction notices
    8. Consents for the use of loudspeakers in streets

    HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT 1974 (WITH ASSOCIATED REGULATIONS)

    1. General procedural provisions
    2. Definitions
    3. Improvement and prohibition notices
    4. Seizure of dangerous articles or substances
    5. Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences
    6. Notification of cooling towers and evaporative condensers

    FOOD CONTROL AND HYGIENE LEGISLATION

    1. Introduction
    2. Legal structure
    3. Food authorities
    4. Authorised officers
    5. Definitions
    6. General procedural provisions
    7. Registration and approval of food business establishments

    8. Registration of food business establishments
    9. Approval of product specific establishments
    10. Enforcement actions under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006

    11. Hygiene Improvement Notices
    12. Hygiene Prohibition Notices
    13. Hygiene emergency prohibition notices
    14. Remedial action notices and detention notices
    15. Enforcement procedures under the Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Hygiene Regs 2006

    16. Detention and seizure of food
    17. Sampling of food
    18. Enforcement procedures under EC regulations

    19. Closure notices on mollusc harvesting areas

    LICENSING

    1. Introductory note
    2. Animal welfare licences

    3. Animal boarding establishments
    4. Dangerous wilds animals
    5. Dog breeding establishments
    6. Pet shops
    7. Riding establishments
    8. Alcohol and entertainment licences

    9. Licensing act 2003
    10. Personal licences
    11. Premises licences
    12. Club premises certificates
    13. Permitted temporary activities
    14. Closure of licences premises
    15. Other licences

    16. Skin piercing and other special treatments
    17. Street trading
    18. Licensing of caravan sites (park homes)
    19. Scrap metal dealers

    HOUSING ACTS

    1. Structure of the law dealing with housing standards and their enforcement
    2. General procedural provisions
    3. Housing Standards - the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS)
    4. Enforcement

    5. Improvement notices
    6. Prohibition notices
    7. Hazard awareness notices
    8. Notices of emergency remedial action
    9. Emergency prohibition notices
    10. Demolition orders
    11. Clearance areas
    12. Houses in multiple occupation

    13. Definitions
    14. HMO declarations
    15. Licensing of HMO's
    16. Designation of areas for additional licensing of HMO's
    17. Interim management orders
    18. Final management orders
    19. Overcrowding notices for HMO's
    20. Miscellaneous housing procedures

    21. Renewal areas
    22. selective licensing of residential accommodation
    23. Overcrowding

    MISCELLANEOUS

    1. Introductory note
    2. Removal of persons in need of care
    3. LA role in controls over radioactive substances
    4. Control of rats and mice
    5. Sanitary conveniences at places of entertainment
    6. Protection of buildings
    7. Abandoned vehicles
    8. Removal and disposal of abandoned refuse
    9. Controls over trading on Sundays at large shops
    10. Removal of unauthorized campers
    11. Anti social behaviours orders

    Biography

    Bill Bassett authored the first seven editions of Environmental Health Procedures, the first of which appeared in 1983. His dedication to navigating and clarifying the relevant regulations and laws in this book has aided countless environmental health practitioners in the UK and beyond. Bill passed the baton to Tim Deveaux in 2013, but remained on hand to help both the new author and the publisher throughout. The ninth edition continues in the spirit of Bill’s classic book, and is the second to be named after him. Bill sadly died in 2017 and his legacy remains a testament to a leading, visionary and dedicated environmental health practitioner.

    Tim Deveaux is an independent environmental health practitioner with 36 years of public sector experience in a wide range of areas in environmental health and sustainability. His experience includes housing, drainage, food safety, health and safety, air pollution and noise, infectious disease control, developing and implementing strategies to change behaviour, and protecting the environment and human health, particularly in planning for, and implementing, climate change and sustainability solutions.

    "Bassett’s Environmental Health Procedures provides practical guidance on implementing the wide and diverse range of legislation in the field of Environmental Health. I would thoroughly recommend it to all Environmental Health Practitioners." Alan Higgins, independent Environmental and Waste Consultant