Pub boss hits back over 'scores on doors' (From Blackburn Citizen)

Pub boss hits back over 'scores on doors'

5:50pm Tuesday 9th October 2007

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A PUB boss has slammed council chie-fs for naming and shaming his business over "out of date" information.

Nicholas Moore is furious that his Royal Arms Pub, Tockholes Road, Tockholes, was given a zero rating in Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's 'Scores on the Doors' website.

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He said this came 10 months after Environmen-tal Health inspectors gave the pub the score and that since then the kitchen had been brought up to scratch.

Mr Moore said these improvements should have been reflected, rather than "naming and shaming" the Royal Arms for failings which had been rectified.

But council bosses said only "primary inspections" could be used for "scores on the doors".

Last month Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council announced the names of 67 takeaways, restaurants and canteens who had got bottom marks in the new scheme.

The marks were based on primary inspections which were carried out by environmental health officers.

In some cases, a second inspection was carried out - but this had no bearing on the rating. Mr Moore, whose wife Isa, is the landlady of the Royal Arms pub, said: "They came to inspect us in November 2006, and found the roof was leaking.

"Then in June they paid us a spot visit and gave us a clean bill of health.

"Why is the website not updated? It's just wrong.

"The information on the website was factually inaccurate, out of date and misleading.

"If the situation was so bad in the first place why wait so long to do a follow up visit?

"We are a small pub in the middle of nowhere and this hit us like a bolt out of the blue.

"I don't think it's the way a council should behave. They have a lot of influence and I have no problem with that. But they have to use it in a fair and just way."

Scores on the Doors is a national scheme from the Food Standards Agency.

The council's head of environmental health Chris Allen said there were no plans to alter the criteria for the ratings - confidence in manageme-nt ability to maintain standards, hygiene and safety and structural requirements.

He said: "The score reflects the findings at the premises on the date of the last primary inspection.

" If there are major non compliances at that inspection, the business will be sent details of how to improve and a secondary inspection may take place. However, this does not change the Scores on the Doors rating."

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