BCP Council has awarded a contract worth nearly £700,000 for external food inspection services to two London-based companies.
The five-year agreement was awarded to two small and medium-sized (SME) London businesses and will see them provide environmental safety inspections for an estimated 1,800 eateries every year.
The contract was made through an open procurement process in which £675,000 was awarded.
This is equal to £810,000, including value added tax (VAT).
The awarded contract expects the agreement to run from August 26 this year to August 25, 2031.
The two successful companies are Osborne Richardson Limited in High Holborn and The Oyster Partnership Limited in Berners Street, Westminster.
BCP Council has a statutory responsibility to carry out food hygiene inspections across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole.
The council’s decision on the award was made on August 14; however, a standstill period is in place until August 25, preventing contracts from being signed until August 26.
The newly awarded contracts will support BCP Council’s existing food hygiene inspection operations, which encompass more than 4,000 registered food businesses.
The council receives about 900 food-related complaints and enquiries each year and currently carries out over 2,000 food hygiene inspections annually.
Cllr Andy Martin, BCP Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer, Communications and Culture, said: “BCP Council’s food hygiene inspections help keep residents and visitors safe and give people confidence in the places where they choose to eat, whether that is a restaurant, pub, or takeaway.
“We have over 4,000 registered food businesses and receive around 900 food related complaints and enquiries every year.
“The council carries out over 2,000 food hygiene inspections each year.
“By using a balance of in-house expertise and contractual support, we can maintain a reliable inspection programme and make the best use of our specialist officers where they are needed most.
“Like many other local authorities, using additional inspectors gives the council flexibility to complete routine inspections, while enabling Environmental Health Officers to focus on higher-risk work, including investigations and enforcement activity.
“This important frontline public safety work supports high standards of cleanliness, handling and staff training across local businesses and helps protect our residents and visitors from unsafe, unhygienic and incorrectly described food.”
