HUNDREDS of cafes, bars, shops, schools, community centres and other premises in the district have gone years without formal hygiene inspections, it can be revealed.

National guidance says inspections should be carried out between every six months and every three years, depending on a venue’s risk level, but some in Bradford have been waiting for up to a decade.

In total, the Scores On The Doors website lists 3,473 establishments in Bradford that should be inspected, but the data for 409 of those (12 per cent) is more than three years old – although it is possible a small number of premises may have since closed.

A total of 14 establishments have not been inspected since 2006, according to the Scores On The Doors website.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said the authority’s inspection teams focused their resources on premises where higher-risk foods were handled or prepared.

He said: “The food businesses which have not been inspected in the past three years are classed as low-risk premises such as pubs which do not serve meals or shops and chemists which only sell wrapped and packaged food.

“These premises are still subject to alternative monitoring in line with the Food Law Code of Practice such as food-sampling visits or questionnaires to ensure the Council knows that they remain low-risk.”

The official records suggest most of those waiting longest in Bradford did score highly last time, as the vast majority were given ratings of either five (very good), four (good) or three (generally satisfactory) stars out of a possible five.

But outdated ratings also include the Euro Supermarket in Valleygate, Manningham Road, Bradford, which still has one star from a rating given in June 2013; the Bradford Hotel, in Valley Road, Shipley, which still has a rating of two stars from December 2012 and the Royal Hotel bar, in Main Road, Denholme, which was given a rating of two stars in February 2013.

The Council spokesman said premises were revisited after inspections to make sure businesses attended to any matters raised.

They were then monitored through questionnaires or food samples between programmed inspections.

He said these were designated as low-risk premises, adding: “We focus our resources on high-risk premises which handle open high-risk food or preparing food.”

A spokeswoman for the Foods Standards Agency said alternative strategies were used for low-risk premises. She said: “These will have had an initial visit, but for these the local authority typically uses questionnaires, with a sample of businesses receiving a follow-up visit to verify the information provided.

“The FSA sets the criteria overall, however, it’s up to local authorities to use the criteria to rate the level of risk of the premises and determine the frequency of inspections.”

The latest inspection scores can be viewed at scoresonthedoors.org.uk.

Premises should not be confused with those of a similar name at other addresses.