| Until last year if you lived in the UK and wanted to find | | | | include |
| out about | | | | some large councils such as Birmingham, Bristol and |
| restaurant hygiene standards from the public health | | | | Camden in London |
| authorities, you | | | | (which includes Soho), and seaside resorts such as |
| could forget it! All information was deemed | | | | Weymouth and Great |
| "commercially confidential" and closely | | | | Yarmouth. Most councils use symbols such as stars |
| guarded by local councils. Now everything has | | | | to give |
| changed with | | | | ratings, with the most common ratings being based on |
| the Freedom of Information Act, and you can ask for | | | | stars, usually |
| the latest | | | | five in number. A word of warning though! The |
| inspection report for any food business anywhere in | | | | councils use slightly different |
| the country.At first some councils refused requests, | | | | scoring systems, so check what they mean on each |
| fearing | | | | site. |
| either legal action by angry restaurateurs, or that their | | | | Generally the more stars or other symbols the better. |
| relationships | | | | A low number of symbols may mean the premises |
| with businesses would be damaged. The Information | | | | had some poor |
| Commissioner, a government watchdog, made a ruling | | | | hygiene at the last inspection, so on a five star based |
| in late 2005 | | | | scheme |
| which means that all councils should now respond to | | | | look for at least three stars. Of course, the |
| requests. | | | | rating is based on a single inspection on a particular |
| There is no charge for requests on a small scale, but | | | | day, so things |
| if you | | | | may have changed since the last inspection, for good |
| ask for reports on every restaurant in your town, | | | | or worse. It's not just restaurants you can check out. |
| expect to be advised | | | | The hygiene |
| that there will be a substantial charge! | | | | standards of school kitchens, day nurseries, hospitals, |
| But lets face it, who wants all the hassle of making a | | | | flight |
| formal written | | | | catering, and your local takeaway are just a few |
| request anyway, especially if it might trigger a | | | | clicks away. |
| charge? | | | | The easiest way to find out which councils are |
| There is an easier way, as many councils are now | | | | publishing is to go to Scores-on-the-Doors |
| publishing summary versions of inspection reports on | | | | where they are all listed. So before you book a table |
| the web. | | | | next time, or head out for a takeaway, check out the |
| At the moment the numbers are fairly limited, but | | | | latest hygiene report on-line. |