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Press Release

Primary Authority Scheme transparent and efficient, says CIEH Chief Executive

13 October 2011

Graham Jukes, CIEH Chief Executive, gave a spirited defence of the Primary Authority Scheme in an interview on the Radio 5 Live Investigates programme with Adrian Goldberg on Sunday 9 October.

The programme was investigating whether the Primary Authority Scheme could be open to abuse by companies seeking to influence council enforcement activities. It followed claims made the previous Sunday on the same programme that West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS) had taken consultancy payments from a firm – SGE Loans – that was subject of customer complaints.

Graham Jukes refuted claims made during the interview that there was an inherent conflict of interest when a business pays the council responsible for regulating it.

Jukes said that he had been involved in the debate around the development and implementation of the primary authority scheme for over six years and had not witnessed any evidence of a conflict of interest. He argued that this was a legitimate scheme created by the previous government, passed by Parliament following due process, extensive scrutiny and consultation. The system had inbuilt checks and balances and there was nothing particularly new about in that it was an extension of the 'polluter pays principle'.

He firmly told the interviewer that the primary authority scheme was not developed to make money for local authorities or businesses or to avoid regulation and that this was a particularly cynical way of looking at the scheme. While the CIEH had initial reservations about the scheme, believing it to be too bureaucratic, in practice it had proved to be an effective way of ensuring compliance.

He also added that with the impact of the recession and the drive towards sharing services between local authorities, the CIEH not only supported the development of primary authorities but also 'earned recognition' as a way to refocus priority action and resources to those businesses that deliberately flout the law or cut corners with public safety.

Regulation, he argued, is not an end in itself, but a tool used by professional regulators to deliver outcomes that matter to people such as improved public and environmental health services, cleaner streets and safer communities.

Wherever possible, regulators should work with business to achieve these goals.

Since the launch of the Primary Authority Scheme some 389 businesses have forged partnerships with 69 local authorities covering 4800 premises and 1,160600 employees. Partnerships can be revoked at anytime.



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