CIEH welcomes new analysis highlighting mounting pressures on local government environmental health teams

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has welcomed new work released by the Local Government Association (LGA) which highlights ongoing workforce challenges in environmental health.

The update of the LGA’s Environmental Health Workforce Strategy, first published in 2024, provides new insight into the pressures facing environmental health teams and reinforces the need for a coordinated, long‑term approach to workforce resilience.

Environmental health services across the UK continue to experience significant and persistent pressures, including long‑standing recruitment and retention challenges, an ageing workforce, and growing demand for specialist skills across areas such as housing, food safety, environmental protection and public health.

The LGA’s new analysis highlights emerging workforce trends and the increasingly urgent need for national action.

Alongside this publication, the LGA and CIEH have strengthened their strategic collaboration to ensure closer alignment between professional standards, workforce realities and national policy discussions.

This enhanced partnership follows the appointment of Joanna Seymour as CIEH’s Head of Environmental Health Workforce Programme, a key role dedicated to shaping the future of the profession.

As part of this deeper collaboration, CIEH will lead a programme of roundtables, expert workshops, and engagement sessions with local authorities, universities, and practitioners across all environmental health specialisms.

The insights gathered will feed directly into a comprehensive refresh of the Environmental Health Workforce Strategy in 2026, helping ensure it reflects sector needs, current challenges and future skills demands.

Joanna Seymour, Head of Environmental Health Workforce Programme at CIEH, said:

“We welcome the publication of this latest work by the LGA, which provides vital insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the environmental health workforce in local authority settings.

“By strengthening our partnership, we can bring together shared expertise, improve the evidence base and create clearer, more accessible routes into the profession. This collaboration is a crucial step in building a resilient, confident and future‑ready workforce that continues to protect our communities.

“This represents only one section of the varied workforce, and the CIEH wants to engage with the wider environmental health workforce to ensure that we get a comprehensive and accurate picture.”

The Local Government Environmental Health Workforce Strategy and Action Plan can be found here: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/lga-workforce-shortage-strategies/local-government-environmental-health