In January 2026 the FSA rolls out a revised FHRS scoring grid that most councils have already adopted early.

Biggest changes:

• Missing corrective actions on temperature deviations: now 15–20 points instead of 10. • No evidence of management checks on records: straight 20-point hit. • Allergen information not “readily available” to staff: 15 points (used to be 5–10). • Pest control records older than 12 weeks without visits: 10 points.

In practice this means a single bad day with poor records can now push a previously solid 5-star business straight into 3-star territory.

Digital systems that force corrective actions and management sign-off suddenly went from “nice to have” to “the only way to stay at 5 stars”.