Food Law News - UK - 1997

Sept 1997: HEALTH - Proposed Amendments to the the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984


MAFF/DoH Food Safety Bulletin, Sept 1997

Proposed Amendments to the the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984

The Minister for Public Health, Tessa Jowell, announced on 26 June 1997 that the Department of Health (DH) would be bringing forward and consulting on proposals for replacing the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. This Act governs the control of communicable disease and cases of food poisoning and is a consolidation of old (and in some cases, very old) measures. These have been widely criticised as being ill-equipped to deal with the demands of today's world.

The proposals will be presented in a discussion document (possibly a White Paper) later this year. They will build on the outcome of an earlier consultation on this Act which was conducted by DH in 1989 and will form part of the Government's plans to strengthen and improve public health. They will also take account of the intention to establish a Food Standards Agency. For this reason, the period of consultation (expected to be two months) will be timed to overlap with the consultation of the White Paper on the Food Standards Agency. A draft Bill will then be prepared, which is likely to be issued for a shorter period of consultation next summer. At this stage, it is not possible to say when the legislation will be put before Parliament, but it will not be within the first session.


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