Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Public Protection to update the Panel on the current position as regards the inspection of animal activities licenced under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

The Public Protection Manager introduced the report by stating that the update had been requested at the Licensing Committee held on 29 June 2022. The report detailed the inspection regime under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

The Public Protection Manager referred to the figures at point 2.12 of the report and stated that the 15 renewal inspections were due up until the end of July: this was the figure at the time the report was written, with 24 being due in total in 2022.  Inspections due to date had now been undertaken. Regarding point 2.15, the number of applications processed by the team had further increased in 2021/2022, and a greater complexity of cases had been presented. A new member of staff had been recruited and was developing well into the role. Any fluctuations in volume impacted on workflow and a growth bid for extra resources was being considered. 

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members stated that the request for the report to come forward to the Panel had been due to the slippage of inspections and queried whether this had been a result of staffing levels or budget. Members welcomed the new member of staff into the team and queried whether the need for vets to accompany certain inspections had any financial implications for the council.
  • The Public Protection Manager stated that the slippage had been caused by the following combination of factors:
    • The availability of vets to attend inspections had been challenging. A vet who had regularly accompanied the team on inspections had recently retired and the practice was unable to provide a replacement due to their own recruitment issues. It was clarified that vets fees were recharged to applicants/licence holders and represented a zero net cost to the council; and
    • the capacity within the team to carry out animal inspections was limited. The regulations stated that Animal Welfare inspections could only be carried out by Licencing Officers who were suitably qualified for the activity, and this currently applied to just one member of the team. The new Licencing Assistant would be trained when a course became available.

·         Members asked if any potential risks to the Council, and individuals, had been considered where inspections were not undertaken.

o   The Public Protection Manager stated that delayed re-inspections for licence renewals could render the published inspection star rating inaccurate – reductions and improvements in performance would not be recognised.

o   Delays in the processing of new licences could impact business activities leading to complaints and reputational damage.

Members were grateful for the update which had assisted their understanding of the underlying issues.

AGREED:

That the contents of the report be noted.