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A Walsall man appeared before Dudley Magistrate courts last week charged with fly-tipping offences that date back to 2018 and 2019, and for which he has been given a substantial fine.

It has been nearly a decade since Walsall Council introduced the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in the borough to encourage food businesses to share their ratings in plain sight. In this time compliance levels amongst businesses have increased year on year and as 2020 draws to an end, our team of Environmental Health Officers continue to strike a balance between business compliance and education - as well as promoting greater transparency around ratings for the public, too.

The council is to consider an Additional Licensing Scheme for Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). The proposed scheme will go to Cabinet on 09 December and aims to improve standards in those properties that have less than five people living there.

Walsall Council recognises that losing a loved one at any time is traumatic, but it has been even more difficult during the current pandemic, with limits on the numbers who can attend funerals.

Government guidance states that:

Funeral ceremonies must have no more than 30 people attending, whether indoors or outdoors. This number does not include funeral staff.  The actual number of people able to attend will depend on how many people can be safely accommodated within the premises with social distancing, and where the funeral venue manager has carried out a risk assessment and taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19. In some cases, this may be fewer than 30 people.

More than 219,000 counterfeit cigarettes and 64kg of illegal tobacco with a retail value of more than £163,700 was seized across the borough on Friday (13 November) as  part of a crackdown on the illicit trade. The illegal tobacco industry has continued to thrive throughout lockdown and Walsall Trading Standards, in partnership with West Midlands Police and a specialist search-dog team, swooped on local shops and vehicles during Operation Dobermann last week.