Hygiene and tonic for drinks giant
13 July 2010
Britvic Soft Drinks, one of the leading businesses in its sector in Britain, has signed up with Chelmsford Borough and Essex County Council to cut red tape and save money.
The two deals will save Britvic the red tape involved in dealing with different local authorities around the UK, with Chelmsford acting as a single point of contact for food safety and hygiene issues and Essex doing the same for fair trading, food standards, metrology and product safety.
Britvic, which owns brands like Robinsons, Tango as well as the Britvic brand itself, has its headquarters in Chelmsford. Primary Authority offers councils a way of building stronger relationships with key local businesses as part of their commitment to local enterprise and local economic development.
A Britvic spokesperson said: "We believe the primary authority partnership is the way forward in terms of improving the way the system of regulation works for our business, for the local authorities we deal with and, most importantly, for the consumer. At Britvic we are firmly committed to high standards of quality and food safety, and we keenly look forward to developing an even more constructive partnership."
Councillor Ian Grundy, Chelmsford Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Safer Communities said "This partnership is a fantastic example of how, by more effective enforcement, council's can help reduce the burden on local employers and help their business in these difficult economic times.
Essex County Councillor Tracey Chapman, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Trading Standards, said: "I am extremely proud that Essex County Council has become the Primary Authority for Britvic. Essex County Council is committed to supporting all businesses in Essex, providing them with the assistance and advice they require. We look forward to further developing our working relationship with Britvic, and I am sure they will really benefit from the expertise we can provide."
For companies operating under two or more local councils, Primary Authority provides reliable and consistent advice from a single source. Currently, businesses run the risk of prosecution, even if they follow official advice, if local inspectors disagree about how to interpret regulations. This can also result in discrepancies in protection for consumers, workers and the environment.
The Primary Authority scheme is administered by LBRO, the technical experts on better local regulation. Chairman Clive Grace said: "The success of Primary Authority is demonstrable, and ministers have asked the Better Regulation Executive to work with us to prepare options for extending the scheme.
"The need to ease the burden of red tape on business has never been more acute, and Primary Authority is a proven, successful method of doing that, and as a result it is getting buy in from major companies, such as Britvic, involved a wide range of commercial sectors."
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