Primary Authority Partnerships

The Primary Authority Partnership (PAP) scheme is a legally recognised partnership between businesses and a local authority.

The business is provided with robust and reliable regulatory advice that other local authority regulators must respect.

Partnerships are available to any type of business, whether starting out or established. They are also available to other types of organisation, such as charities and trade associations.

On this page:

Benefits

The benefits of being in a PAP scheme include the following.

Assured advice that you can rely on and which is applicable across England. Local authorities must take account of this when carrying out inspections or dealing with non-compliance.
Partnerships can reduce costs by providing certainty to your business, reducing risk and aiding compliance.
A single point of contact for regulatory advice and support.
A reduction in regulatory burden through simpler and more successful regulation.
A single point of contact for environmental health and licensing issues. A designated officer will get to know your business and be able to provide tailored advice.
Ongoing advice and support so your business is always compliant and on the right path, even when legislation changes.
Customers are better protected as businesses find it easier to comply with legislation.

Regulatory advice

With qualified and fully trained officers, we can provide expertise in food hygiene, health and safety, and licensing legislation.

We also work in partnership with other regulators to provide advice in other areas that may affect your business, such as trading standards and fire safety.

Fees

We charge for Primary Authority work on a cost recovery basis at a rate of £70 per hour.

Before finalising any agreement, we will spend time with you to find out what level of support your business needs.

A set-up package costs £700 and includes:

the PA agreement
registering the application for approval from the Secretary of State
preparation of an action plan if appropriate.

Any surplus of the initial fee will be credited to your business for the provision of advice and support.

Contact details

You can contact to discuss a Primary Authority Partnership using the details below.

Email: eandr@nfdc.gov.uk

Phone: 02380 285411

Environmental Health
Food Safety Team
Appletree Court
Beaulieu Road
Lyndhurst
SO43 7PA

Our office hours are:

Monday to Thursday: 8.45am to 5.15pm.

Friday: 8.45am to 4.45pm.