Registration as a food business in Wales

Childminding and Food Standards Agency guidelines - Wales

 

As you will be aware, registered childminders are required to ensure that any food provided within their setting is safely prepared, appropriate and complies with guidelines. Food legislation requirements must be complied with. (For further information please refer to the National Minimum Standards for Regulated childcare 2011 – Standard 12: Food and Drink).

 

You may be aware that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently consulting on the current registration requirements for childminders in England. This consultation has arisen from the UK Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ process which is an initiative intended to review all secondary legislation in England with the objective of minimising regulatory burdens on business.

 

This initiative does not apply to Welsh Government devolved areas and as a result, only childminders in England are being consulted on this issue directly, however, Welsh Ministers have agreed that the FSA in Wales will continue to advise them in respect of any proposed decisions by Ministers in England under the Red Tape Challenge.

 

Decisions taken by Welsh Ministers will be informed by an assessment of whether benefits can be delivered without compromising consumer protection.

 

Key points for registered childminders in Wales

We appreciate that with consultations taking place on childminder registration in England only, this may leave childminders in Wales confused about their current requirements regarding the Food Standards Agency / Registering with local authorities in Wales. We have therefore worked with the Cardiff office of the FSA to clarify the following points:

 

1. Registered childminders in Wales will not be classed as a food business operator, and will not have to register with their local authority if they fall into the following levels of provision within their setting:

 

  • Provision of mains drinking water
  • Provision of crockery and cutlery for use by children to eat their own packed lunches
  • Provisions of chilled storage for packed lunches that belong to the children
  • Occasional assistance to children with cutting up their own food in response to individual need rather than as an established service
  • Occasional provision of food that is not part of the normal service (eg. A cake to celebrate a child’s birthday or provision of food where a parent/guardian has been delayed)
  • Operating in the child’s own home and serving food that belongs to the child’s parent/guardian e.g. Nannies

 

2. The regular provision of snacks or soft drinks as part of the normal service is considered a significant activity that would require registration as would reheating of food provided by parents, reconstituting formula milk, providing cold and cooked meals.

 

3. Food Hygiene Ratings - Two groups of business where you might eat or buy food are not given food hygiene ratings – these are ‘exempt’. Exempt businesses are inspected by a local authority food safety officer but they are not given a rating.

The two groups of exempt businesses are:

  • Businesses that are a low-risk to people’s health in terms of food safety and that you perhaps wouldn’t normally think of as a food business – for example, newsagents, chemist shops or visitor centres selling tins of biscuits
  • childminders and businesses that offer caring services at home.

 

These types of business can ask to receive a food hygiene rating if they wish but only details of those in the first group will be published on the website but those in the second group can share their rating with parents and others using their services.

If a childminder does choose to have a food hygiene rating, their address will NOT be published on the FSA website.

 

Registered childminders should refer to the ‘Safer food, better business for childminders’ guidance, produced by FSA in conjunction with NCMA.

 

 

Page last updated: 2/24/2012