Tests for legionella bacteria in Falkirk Council buildings 'unacceptable'

An internal audit in June found serious shortcomings in procedures for a sample of five properties, leaving the service with a “no assurance” rating.

It flagged: inconsistent checking and reporting regimes; a lack of training of premises staff; poor escalation of reporting where temperature checks highlighted results outwith expected parameters; and inconsistency of checking pre-planned maintenance tasks carried out by contractors.

The council had previously experienced major problems reopening schools and nurseries after legionella – which can lead to Legionnaire’s disease – was found in them after lockdown closures.

Following that, members were told that the council had learned lessons and assured new procedures had been put in place. However, the June audit made it clear that there were still several problems.

“These findings were, in short, unacceptable,” said Paul Kettrick, Head of Invest Falkirk.

The results of the audit were revealed to the Audit Committee in September and members asked for a report this month to see how the action plan was progressing.

On Monday, Paul Kettrick told the Audit Committee the council’s position with regard to legionella and water quality was “unacceptable” – although he reassured members that “huge advances are being made” to deal with the problem.

He acknowledged that different services with different approaches to managing properties led to “a lack of clarity and miscommunication”. But, he added: “This is changing”.

A new Property Compliance Team is now being recruited to manage the council’s property assets, which will include a dedicated Environmental Quality Officer (Water and Air). The job is currently being advertised and it is hoped someone will be in post in the new year.

Responsibility for regular checks will remain with property managers and the review has identified a need for better training for all responsible staff, which will be mandatory.

Councillors were warned, however, that the new roles would come from existing budgets and that it would mean that other less critical work would be delayed or not done at all.