The Food and Safety team is responsible for carrying out health and safety inspections and the investigation of complaints and accidents at 4500 commercial premises in the City.

Inspections will primarily concentrate on how businesses manage risks from those activities most likely to kill, injure and/or make people ill at work. These include falls from height, workplace transport, slips and trips, musculoskeletal disorders and workplace stress.

Inspections will also address any other immediately obvious matters (priority topics) which could cause serious injury or ill health. For more information on priority topic activities and hazards please visit the Health and Safety Executive website.

Not all premises in the City are inspected by Local Authority Environmental Health Officers. Enforcement responsibility for Health and Safety is split between the Local Authority and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Premises enforced by City of York Council

• Warehouses
• Offices
• Shops
• Public Houses
• Hotels
• Animal boarding establishments
• Horse riding establishments
• Builders merchants
• Catering premises except schools
• Day nurseries
• Campsites
• Tyre and exhaust premises
• Hairdressers and beauty salons
• Coin operated launderettes and dry cleaners
• Residential care homes

Enforced by Health and Safety Executive

• Manufacturing premises
• Schools and educational establishments
• Doctors surgeries
• Dentists
• Local authorities
• Nursing homes
• Mining
• Forestry
• Airfields
• Car repairs
• Fairgrounds
• Construction and demolition
• Agriculture
• Operation of a railway

This is not a complete list of the premises enforced by the HSE and Local Authorities, so please contact us if you have any queries

What we do

The health and safety enforcement team helps to improve and protect the health and safety of people at work, in certain workplaces, in York by:

• inspecting businesses to ensure that work premises are safe for employees and visitors
• investigating complaints from the public and employees
• investigating accidents, dangerous occurrences and ill health notifications
• investigating formal reports of defective equipment
• giving advice on and monitoring asbestos removal
• registering persons who carry out acupuncture, electrolysis, body/ear piercing or tattooing and monitoring standards at premises
• enforcing the law restricting the opening hours of large shops on Sundays

The Health and Safety Executive

We align our work to the Health and Safety Executive's Strategic Plan which focuses on key areas of risk in the workplace:

• slips, trips and falls
• falls from heights
• workplace transport
• stress
• manual handling

If you are concerned about safety in a manufacturing environment, construction work, plumbing or electrical servicing contact the Health and Safety Executive or visit the Health and Safety Executive website.