PHE to decide on possible lab closures in March

The agency started a consultation in November last year on the proposals and said moving from five labs to three would reduce costs for the taxpayer.

Those in Birmingham and Preston could be shut with up to 40 job losses.

PHE also has Food, Water and Environment labs in York, London and Porton.

A spokesperson for PHE said: “PHE has consulted staff and partners on proposals to change the configuration of the PHE Food, Water and Environmental Service by reducing the number of specialist laboratories from five to three, while maintaining the same high level of service and quality standards across the country. ​

“We are currently reviewing a range of options and hope to reach a final decision by mid-March.”​

When the news came to light last year​, Dorothy Fogg, Unite regional officer responsible for PHE, said it does not accept the closure of the labs in Birmingham and Preston; and that York is the only such lab in the Midlands and north of England.

“Any delay because of these two closures in analysing results could pose a problem, in certain circumstances, to the public health of the local population.”​

Fogg added three years ago there were about 19 labs around the country.

“These have been reduced to five and with the proposed closure of another two it will mean lots of travel, if not the people collecting the samples then the samples themselves,” ​she said.

“This is a major blow for food water and environmental hygiene and to our members across the country who have been in a destabilised state due to constant reorganisation within PHE.”​