Food and Health & Safety 2025 - V4 - Flipbook - Page 19
BACKGROUND
Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority
Su昀昀olk Coastal Port Health Authority (SCPHA) manages competing demands brought
on by ever-changing legislation and commercial activities at the ports of Felixstowe,
Harwich and Ipswich.
SCPHA ful昀椀ls a legal obligation to deliver o昀케cial controls at the border, which are
frequently updated to re昀氀ect new or emerging risks. However, the level of enforcement
is determined by the nature and volumes of trade arriving in Felixstowe, Harwich and
Ipswich, which can 昀氀uctuate considerably.
Every imported consignment has potential to present biosecurity issues and must be
processed with vigilance by SCPHA, as o昀케cers seek to accurately identify and apply
required controls. However, given the current scale of trade and potential impacts on
the supply chain, SCPHA aims to minimise intervention on compliant importers and
focus on non-compliant products wherever possible. This requires a 昀氀exible service with
stringent training that asks o昀케cers to use their operational knowledge and adapt to
changing circumstances.
SCPHA’s current service is provided between 6:30 and 22:00 from Monday to Thursday,
6:30 to 21:30 on Friday and 6:30 to 14:30 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corporate Health and Safety
The Corporate Health and Safety Team supports the whole Council and responds to
internal and external demands, both proactively and reactively 24/7.
The number of employees has continued to grow. The newly recruited sta昀昀 and
colleagues moving to new posts within the Council has resulted in a health and safety
knowledge gap. This has increased the demands on the Corporate Health and Safety
Team to support managers to manage their team and the team’s activities safely.
Managing workplace stress is a national health and safety priority and one that has
been identi昀椀ed as a high risk for the local government workforce. Raising awareness
of what can be done to manage the causes of workplace stress is an area of work that
is placing greater demands on the Corporate Health and Safety Team.
WE ARE EASTSUFFOLK
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