Manchester Port Health Authority:
Structure and Functions
The Port Health Authority is a stand-alone local Authority, ascribed to undertake certain functions
on behalf of other local Authorities, known as the Riparian Authorities to the Port Health Authority.
The legislation which covers these functions is contained with the
Manchester Port Health Authority Order 1977, as amended by
the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous
Amendments and other Provisions) Order 2009.
The Origins of Manchester Port Health Authority
The Port Health Authority was created at the dawn of local
government in England. With the building of the Manchester
Ship Canal in 1894, and the creation of a customs Port for the
Port of Manchester there was a need to create a Port Sanitary
Authority for the customs district.
The Manchester Ship Canal is unique in complying with these requirements. Normally ports are
single entities involving one local Authority, or they may be a joint board within a river, bay or
estuary, made up of a number of local authorities, thereby making a joint board Port Health
Authority.
The Manchester Ship Canal, being man made, passes through a number of local authorities in its
37 mile journey from Eastham in the Wirral, to the steps opposite Manchester Cathedral on the
river Irwell in Manchester.
Port Health Authority interpretation of the Port Health Order
1. Therefore for the purposes of the Act, meaning the Public Health Act 1936, the Port of
Manchester shall be a port health district and a joint board shall be the Port Health Authority
for that district.
2. The joint board shall be called the Manchester Port Health Authority.
3. The joint board shall consist of 14 members of whom the number shown against the name
of the Riparian Authority specified below shall be appointed to the board by that Authority
from the members of the council, that is to say:Manchester City Council
Salford City Council
Trafford Borough Council
Warrington Borough Council
Halton Borough Council
Cheshire West & Chester Council
Wirral Borough Council
4 members
4 members
1 member
1 member
1 member
2 members
1 member
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Jurisdiction of the Port Health Authority
The joint board shall have jurisdiction as port health authoritya. over all the waters with the Port of Manchester, together with the water of the River Weaver
and the Weaver Navigation as far inland as Winsford Bridge
b. the whole of the district of a riparian authority in as far as it is included with the Port of
Manchester, together with such other ports of the district of a specified riparian authority as
companies the whole of any wharf and of the area with the gates of any dock and the
buildings thereon respectively and which abuts on or is adjacent to the waters specified in
sub-paragraph (a) above.
Functions assigned to the Joint Board
According to the Port Health Order, the functions assigned to the joint board, closely mirror those
rights and liabilities of a local authority under the enactments specified, so far as they are
applicable to a port health authority and to any lands, waters, premises, vessels or persons within
their jurisdiction.
For the purposes of the functions, rights and liabilities assigned to the joint board by the Port
Health Order; the enactments shall have effect as if:
a. any vessel lying within their jurisdiction were a house, building or premises and
b. the master or other officer or person in charge of the vessel were the occupier
Expenses of the Joint Board
The riparian authorities shall contribute towards any expenses incurred or to be incurred by the
joint board by virtue of the authority conferred upon then by the port health order in the following
proportions:
Manchester City Council
Salford City Council
Cheshire West & Chester Council
Trafford Borough Council
Halton Borough Council
Warrington Borough Council
Four fourteenths
Four fourteenths
Two fourteenths
One fourteenth
One fourteenth
One fourteenth
This year 2016-2017, the costs per share shall be £16,687.21. Therefore for Salford City Council,
with four shares, this amounts to £66,748.84.
A more thorough explanation of the operations and expenditure of Manchester Port Health
Authority is contained within the Service Delivery Plan 2016-2017, which is available from
Manchester Port Health Authority on request at: [email protected]
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Port Health in Salford
There are a number of wharves within the boundaries of the City of Salford. Ships can still arrive
and discharge at Salford Quays and Manchester Dry Docks.
Travelling westwards, there is the cement cargo at Weaste Tarmac Terminal on Pacific Way.
Across the canal at Cargills, there is a seasonal traffic with imported wheat and maize. On the
opposite bank in Eccles is EMR (European Metal Recycling) recycling who export steel to Europe;
we then arrive at the potential site of Port Salford.
Port Salford is well documented with the City of Salford. The potential and benefit to the city and
region cannot be underestimated and every assistance to drive this project forward should be
encouraged.
Port Salford is a £138 million project with planning permission to develop the UK’s fist Tri-Model
(served by road, rail and short-sea shipping) inland port facility and distribution park on the Barton
Strategic Site adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal.
Port Salford will provide a Central North West distribution base to improve supply chains for
businesses across the North West. It will enable direct barge access to the river terminal at the
Port of Liverpool and will reduce the environmental impact of the terminals’ expansion by reducing
freight levels on road.
The project is a stand-alone creation of a logistics hub in its own right, with new rail connections
from the Manchester – Liverpool line, to allow containers from the ports in the South of England to
be relocated and despatched throughout the North West and on to Scotland.
The short sea route from Seaforth with the development of a project known as ‘L2’ will see large
container vessels discharging at Seaforth. The cargoes will be transhipped onto ferry feeder
vessels and purpose built barges for delivery at Port Salford, for final despatch and delivery by a
number of logistic companies.
For further information please see: http://www.peel.co.uk/projects/port-salford
In addition to Phase One of Port Salford, currently there is a possibility of Phase Two on land to
the North of the A57 – this land surrounds the airport and extends as far as the M60 motorway.
This would provide an additional capacity for Port Salford of 350,000 sq metres of warehousing,
logistics and processing facilities on top of the 150,000 sq metres of warehousing and processing
floor space available in Phase One.
For further information please see: http://peellogistics.co.uk/sites/port-salford-phase-2
Where does Port Health fit into these projects?
In the introduction, it was explained through the Port Health Order, that many of the functions of a
local authority are ascribed to the Port Health Authority.
One of the crucial areas of work will be involved with imported food. It is intended to bring
Products of Animal Origin (POAO) into Port Salford. Imports are controlled through a system of
checks aimed at making sure that the products meet community standards in terms of animal and
public health.
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The system of checks is currently referred to as the veterinary checks regime. Checks are carried
out at Border Inspection Posts (BIPs), designated points of entry into the community.
In the UK, Port Health Authorities operate the BIPs approved for the import of POAO. A port can
only be designated as a BIP if it meets the approval requirements laid down in commission
decision 2001/812/EC and has been inspected by officers from the European Commission and
local UK officers from the Animal and Plant Health Authority.
Peel Ports have indicated to the Port Health Authority that they wish to construct a BIP at Port
Salford. This will enable POAO to be landed there via direct short sea shipping, or transhipping
from L2 at Seaforth to be customs cleared and Port Health cleared at Port Salford.
There are tremendous benefits in doing this for the customer, Peel Ports and Port Salford. Not
least in the speed in which the goods can be inspected, released and cleared, together with the
revenue that can be expected from this process.
Potential Port Health Revenue from Port Salford
As a technical exercise, during 2015 staff at the Port Health Authority successfully tracked cargoes
travelling down the Manchester Ship Canal to Irlam. From Irlam, these cargoes are then sent to
distribution centres in the Salford and Greater Manchester areas.
One of the cargoes earmarked for Port Salford is canned fish. Charges for inspecting fish cargoes
are chargeable at £7.11 per ton or part ton. Containers of tuna or meat can be between 20 - 23
tonnes. Therefore this equals a potential income of £1,652.07 per ship. If we maintain the current
arrivals at three per week, that works out at £4,953 per week. Multiply by 52 weeks: £257,713.56
per annum.
These figures are for an existing customer using this service. There are a number of other
operators who wish to take advantage of this new service at Port Salford; therefore it is not
unreasonable to expect revenue from this operation to be in excess of £1 million per annum within
a very short timescale.
Conclusions
It is very important that this project succeeds and Manchester Port Health Authority undertake this
work on behalf of the City of Salford and the region.
The cost of providing a BIP is the responsibility of the operator, i.e. Peel Ports. The Port Health
Authority Officers will need to undertake training to enable them to satisfy the UK and EU
authorities of their capabilities. This training has already started and will gather momentum in the
months ahead.
In time, there will be a need to increase the Port Health staffing at Port Salford. An office will be
provided within the construction regime and the Port Health Authority already know the nature of
the cargo expected. This has been taken into the general scheme to enable Port Health to be
ready to meet the challenge.
Recommendations
Port Health Officers are already working with Peel Ports to gather information and give appropriate
advice on the developments at Port Salford. It is important that the City of Salford give support at
the highest level, so that every opportunity is taken to facilitate success for Salford in this project.
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Port Health: The nature of the work
Port Health work requires highly trained Environmental Health professionals to provide a wide
range of services to meet the growing needs of the local community and the international shipping
trade.
Below is a brief resume of some of the current and emerging functions and services provided by
Port Health, and the links developed with other agencies to fulfil those requirements
International control of Infectious Diseases
Ship Inspections
Enhanced standards in ship inspections including;
 Routine Legionella sampling
 Water System (Legionella) safety information and guidance in English, Russian and
Spanish
 Food safety information and guidance in many different language
 Enhanced Officer knowledge and understanding
Control of Disease Vectors in Ports
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WHO’s ‘International Health Regulations’ Annex 5, Para 4. (Vector surveillance in Ports
and Airports)
North West Zoonoses Group (NWZG) - Conference
Public Health Research Unit into Emerging and Zoonotic Infections (MPHA Officer Member
of Scientific Advisory Board and Public Engagement Panel)
Instrumental in setting up of the ‘Ports Invasive Mosquito Surveillance’ Group (PIMS) with
PHE and Edge Hill University specialist entomologists
Instrumental in setting up the National Pest Advisory Panel Specialist Working Group
(Cabinet Office/Killgerm/PHE)
Pest Control Service

Fully trained and equipped Pest Control officer, offering an ‘in-house’ service to business
within the port estate
Legionella on Merchant Vessels
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Risk assessed sampling of visiting ships with advice/guidance and support
Major national research project with PHE specialist
Specialist advice sought by media
Port and Seafarer Welfare
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Abandoned Vessels – multi agency group Chaired by MPHA Officer
Port Information Leaflets – Compiled by MPHA Officer
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Local Services
Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC)
 Provision and enforcement of ‘Part B’ Permits to business under the LAPC regime
Air Quality
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Dust Nuisance from Cargo Handling
Odour Nuisance from Cargo Handling
Halton Air Quality Forum
Ellesmere Port Air Quality Forum
Regional Work
Northern Ports Liaison Network (NPLaN)
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Organised and Chaired by MPHA Officers
Open to all PHOs in North of England
Covered subjects such as :
 Achieving Excellence in Ship Sanitation;
 Emerging risks and Food Fraud;
 The Management of Ship’s Water Systems;
 Vectors in Ports;
 Managing Airport Health Issues and Concerns;
 Shellfish and Food Fraud;
 Public Health England and Port Health;
 Food Fraud for frontline staff from a public analyst perspective;
 Students resources and requirements
Student training opportunities

11 students over the past three years
Emerging/Future Work
Imported Food Control
 Preparation and training for the forthcoming BIP at Port Salford
National Food Crime Unit fact-finding visit to the North West

MPHA Officer invited to represent North West Ports and APHA.
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