FOOD hygiene standards are improving across the Bradford district, councillors will hear next week.

Bradford Council has now finalised its Food Safety Service Plan for 2016/17, set to go before members of its Environment and Waste Management Overview Scrutiny Committee when it meets at City Hall on Tuesday.

There are 4,132 food businesses across the Bradford district, including 815 small retailers, 701 takeaways, 692 restaurants and cafes, and 472 pubs and clubs.

In 2015/16, the authority carried out 3,020 interventions, a mix of inspections, sampling, and other visits to food premises.

The percentage of businesses classed as “broadly compliant” with food hygiene regulations was 92.8 per cent, up from 85.8 per cent last year and 87.1 per cent in 2013/14.

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Prosecutions were brought against two firms, down from ten the year before, with three businesses given caution notices, down from seven in 2014/15.

Officers issued 66 improvement notices, down from 69 last year, but the number of premises which closed voluntarily after enforcement action began against them did increase to eight, up from five last year.

Results in the council’s ‘scores on the doors’ food hygiene rating scheme also improved.

By the end of 2015/16, 91.4 per cent of premises had a three-star rating or above, up from 89.6 per cent last year and 86.8 per cent in 2013/14.

The percentage of businesses with a five-star rating is now 62.2 per cent, up from 60.4 per cent in 2014/15, while the percentage of zero-star rated premises remained the same at 0.2 per cent.

Councillor Val Slater, deputy leader of Bradford Council, said: “Since we adopted the national food hygiene rating scheme in 2012, the numbers of premises with a rating of three and above has increased across the Bradford district and the number of poorer premises has decreased.

“The public are becoming increasingly aware of which restaurants achieve a four or five-star hygiene rating, and also aware of our successful prosecutions of those who risk public safety.

“Last year all high-risk food businesses were inspected to ensure improvements in standards are being made.”