A minister has been quizzed over plans to outsource food hygiene inspections.

At Tuesday's House of Keys sitting, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse asked the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) Minister Clare Barber why food hygiene inspections are being put out to tender.

DEFA has issued a tender seeking external organisations to provide qualified environmental health professionals to carry out inspections.

Mrs Barber said she had previously committed to developing a new food hygiene scheme for the Isle of Man, with food hygiene performance information being made publicly available.

However, she said carrying out the required volume of inspections within the proposed timeframe would ‘place significant pressure on existing environmental health resources’.

Mrs Barber added that she wanted to bring in external support rather than increase departmental staffing levels.

‘Rather than increasing the size of the department's environmental health team to facilitate this,’ she said, ‘we are seeking proposals from organisations which could allocate appropriately qualified environmental health professionals to undertake the work.

‘It is hoped that this will ensure a fair and timely service for the hospitality sector without increasing the size of the department.

‘The initial phase is focused on cafes, restaurants, takeaways and bars serving food - sectors where public interest is highest and where businesses compete directly for customers.

‘The department will review the operation of the scheme following this initial phase and consider whether it is appropriate to extend its scope in future.’

There are currently 13 people employed within the department's environmental health team, but only six environmental health officers, one trainee environmental health officer and one food safety adviser carry out hygiene inspections.

Those officers also have other responsibilities, including infectious disease control and regulating businesses such as tattoo parlours and tanning salons.

Mrs Barber explained that her department wants to complete all inspections within a relatively short period.

She said: ‘We want to introduce the scheme on a fair and equitable basis, so rather than carrying out repeat inspections that could perhaps be done over a three-year period, we're talking about trying to get everything completed within a fixed timeframe.

‘That means when we publish the results, everyone is on a level playing field, so our aim is to get these inspections completed in a shorter period of time. The reality is that, with the reactive work as well, it simply is not possible for that to happen with our current resources.’

In October last year, the government appeared to reverse a decision not to introduce a food hygiene rating system on the island.

The previous year, Mrs Barber told Tynwald members such a scheme would not be practical and could ultimately be unfair and damaging to businesses.

She instead announced an education programme for operators outlining their responsibilities in relation to food hygiene, with regular workshops on completing the necessary documentation. However, she later said that approach was unsustainable.

There are more than 1,800 food businesses registered in the Isle of Man and Mrs Barber previously explained that each premises would need to be inspected before any rating scheme could be formally introduced, allowing businesses time to make improvements.