National 'Scores on the Doors' scheme set for 2009

Pubs can expect a national Scores on the Doors scheme, giving consumers details of hygiene rankings given by environmental health officers (EHOs), to be launched next year.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a summary of responses to its consultation on the plan, which closed in August.

The FSA said the majority of responses "indicated strong support for a UK-wide scheme". The agency believes a standard system will be easier to understand than the range of local authority schemes currently in place.

However, the final scheme seems certain to be more complex than industry bodies had hoped. The British Hospitality Association (BHA) was among those lobbying for a simple pass/fail ranking, rather than a system awarding points or stars.

The FSA said that while the industry supported a simple two-tier system with a 'pass or improvement required' approach, both consumers and enforcement agencies favoured a multi-tier scheme. This would award pubs and other food businesses anything from zero to five stars.

However, local authorities are concerned about the cost of their EHOs enforcing the scheme - " the strength of the IT support and a cost-neutral option will be critical in obtaining local authority support for a UK-wide option, particularly for those authorities that already have schemes in place," said the FSA.

The agency is now "meeting with key stakeholders to consider the consultation results and to discuss with them how to move forward towards a UK-wide scheme". The aim is to launch the chosen scheme in early 2009.