NCASS Primary Authority Partnership with Wrexham Council

NCASS has recently solidified a partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council to enable NCASS members who are based in Wales to continue to benefit from the Primary Authority scheme and to replace the partnership that was in place with Monmouthshire Council up until May 2024.

Food safety legislation is devolved to the Welsh Government, so in order for NCASS members in both England and Wales to benefit from the primary authority scheme, NCASS need to partner with a primary authority in both nations. Both the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Wrexham County Borough Council will now be able to work closely together to provide an efficient service.

Primary Authority is a national government-backed scheme that enables businesses to form a legal partnership with a local authority to receive bespoke, assured regulatory advice on environmental health and fire safety regulations. As an NCASS member, you are automatically covered by the PA scheme. You can find out more about Primary Authority partnership on our dedicated webpage here and read our guide explaining Primary Authority here.

NCASS values the Primary Authority scheme and has been part of coordinated partnerships for 10 years. Our current partnerships are:
• Royal Borough of Greenwich
• Wrexham County Borough Council
• East Sussex Fire Service

We have Primary Authority advice in place for The NCASS SMS, Digital SMS and relevant online training courses.

Local Authority regulators can view this advice at the PA register: https://primary-authority.beis.gov.uk/about

Fiona West, NCASS’ in-house Environmental Health Specialist commented:

“We are really pleased to have secured a new partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council. We look forward to working with our new expert colleagues to continue to bring approved and trusted compliance content and resources to our members. It was vital to us that our members in Wales continued to benefit from the Primary Authority scheme.”

“I would recommend that all members review our new guide to Primary Authority and check out the simple steps they can take to ensure that they are properly utilising the primary authority scheme during routine inspections and engagement with local authority regulators.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead member for Public Protection at Wrexham Council stated:

“In acknowledging the benefits of Primary Authority Agreement, we have recently entered an agreement with The Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS). “We value the fundamental work and support NCASS provide to their members in the food industry and will continue to work with them to improve standards within the food industry. “NCASS have an existing partnership with Royal Borough of Greenwich Council so we will be providing support in relation to Welsh legislation and helping to maintain high standards of business compliance for Welsh consumers.

“In adding to our partnerships we will be reaching another demographic of the food industry and therefore will be able to provide assured regulatory advice which is reliable and consistent and from a single point of contact.“