A housing scheme for older people, run by Springboard Housing Association, part of Genesis Housing Group, has won another award – this time a ‘Five star business rating’ as part of Harlow Council’s ‘Scores on the Doors’ scheme. The award was presented at a ceremony at The Civic Centre, Harlow, on 6 October.

‘Scores on the Doors’ is a scheme which allows the public to view the latest hygiene ratings of a food business, following a food hygiene inspection carried out by environmental health officers. The score takes the form of a star rating, with five stars being the top score. Out of 300 entrants, only 15 were awarded 5 stars.

Fitzwilliam Court, in Old Harlow, Essex, was commended for providing ‘very high standards of food safety management … (which is) fully compliant with food safety legislation’. They were congratulated by Edna Stevens, Deputy Chairperson of Harlow Council, as she presented the award.

Following a planned inspection, the officer scores the business according to a national scoring scheme endorsed by the Food Standards Agency. In addition to inspecting and scoring food businesses, officers also now score for hygiene, structure and confidence in management to calculate a simple star rating for a business.

The star rating is issued on a certificate and given to the business to display and is also available on the council’s web page (www.harlow.gov.uk/). This allows people to see at a glance the hygiene standards in the business at the time of inspection, ranging from to zero stars for very poor premises up to five stars for excellence.

Earlier this year, Springboard’s Fitzwilliam Court also won Gold in the Essex ‘Healthy Life, Healthy Eating’ awards.

Robert Veale, Senior Cook at Fitzwilliam Court, says “We at Fitzwilliam Court felt really proud as there were 300 entrants 15 were awarded 5 stars, but only three of those had the Gold award as well, of which we were one.”

Joan Jefferies and Alice Hayes, customers at Fitzwilliam Court, said “We've lived here for around five years and have always been very happy with the quality of service that is provided for us here."

Photo caption (l-r): Edna Stevens, Claire Dunford, Robert Veale

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For further information about Genesis Housing Group and its subsidiaries,

please contact Diana Evans on 020 8150 4178 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 38,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

Springboard is the newest member of the Genesis family. It joined Genesis Housing Group in April 2005 and currently supports more than 5,000 households in 24 local authority areas across London, Essex and Hertfordshire. In addition to general needs housing, shared ownership and leasehold properties, Springboard specialises in supported housing for the elderly and people with special needs.

Harlow Council’s ‘Scores on the Doors’ is a scheme run by councils (Enviromental Health) nationwide. If you wish to eat out and want to know what the rating is for that restaurant you can go on line under your local council web page and look before you eat there. Scores are based on:

Hygiene and safety procedures (e.g. food handling practices, procedures and temperature control)

Structure (e.g. cleaning and disinfection standards, layout, condition of structure, finish (i.e. smooth, non-absorbent, cleanable surfaces), lighting, ventilation, facilities for hygiene such as sinks, size and suitability of the premises for the volume of food produced, refuse storage, etc.

Confidence in management (e.g. does the company act on previous advice in letters from enforcement officers, attitude of management towards hygiene and safety, hygiene and safety knowledge including HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) and the control of critical points and having those procedures documented.

Harlow is introducing the scheme to help drive up food hygiene standards even further, and to give the public information they are legally entitled to. Visit: www.harlow.gov.uk/ for further information.