Understanding the effects of reductions in local government expenditure on food safety services in England, 2009-10 to 2019-20: a longitudinal ecological study

Murrell, Lauren, Clough, Helen E, Zhang, Xingna ORCID: 0000-0002-8849-2112, Gibb, Roger, Chattaway, Marie Anne, Green, Mark A ORCID: 0000-0002-0942-6628, Buchan, Iain Edward ORCID: 0000-0003-3392-1650, Barr, Ben ORCID: 0000-0002-4208-9475 and Hungerford, Daniel ORCID: 0000-0002-9770-0163 (2026) Understanding the effects of reductions in local government expenditure on food safety services in England, 2009-10 to 2019-20: a longitudinal ecological study BMJ OPEN, 16 (1). e107146-. ISSN 2044-6055, 2044-6055

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Abstract

Objective To understand how reductions in resource allocation affect food safety services in England. Design This longitudinal ecological study analysed secondary observational data. Setting England, data at the local authority level. Participants Ecological study, without human participants. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome measures were the number of staff, represented by the number of full-time equivalents per capita, number of interventions per establishment, and proportion of hygiene-compliant establishments. Results A £1 decrease in food safety expenditure per capita was associated with a 2% (−3.3 to –0.7) decrease in staffing levels and a 1.6% (–3.2 to –0.1) decrease in the number of interventions achieved per establishment. A one-unit reduction in staff was associated with a 42.2% (–80.5 to –11.9) decrease in the number of interventions achieved. No evidence of an association was found between expenditure or staff levels and the proportion of compliant establishments. Conclusions Spending reductions negatively affected the capacity of food safety teams to provide key services. Reductions in food safety expenditure significantly affected food hygiene staff levels and service provision. This finding raises concerns about the capacity of food safety teams to operate and the potential for increased public risk of gastrointestinal infections.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Public health, Epidemiology, Gastrointestinal infections
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences (T&R Staff) Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences > Clinical Infection, Microbiology & Immunology Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health > Public Health, Policy & Systems Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health > Inst. Population Health (T&R Staff)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Jan 2026 08:28
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 17:09
DOI:	10.1136/bmjopen-2025-107146
Open Access URL:	https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1/e107146
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3196540
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