Agenda item - Animal Establishment Licensing Reforms

Agenda item

Animal Establishment Licensing Reforms

Minutes:

Following on from the Licensing Committee held on 11thJune 2018; whereby Members received a briefing report on the upcoming reforms to the licensing of animal related establishments as a result of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

 

The Committee was asked to consider a further report seeking approval for changes that would be required in order to implement the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals)( England) Regulations 2018. Namely, changes to the Worcestershire Shared Services Agreement dated 1st April 2016 to reflect the legislative changes, and to set the fees under the new regime for licensing of animal activities.

 

The Licensing and Support Services Manager, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) introduced the report and in doing so informed Members that the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 was scheduled to come into force on 1st October 2018.  These regulations were made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and would replace the licensing regime and legislation currently in place.

 

Members were further informed that under the regulations the existing licensing scheme for animal boarding establishments, pet shops, riding establishments and dog breeders would be repealed and replaced by a new single licensing scheme that would regulate all of these activities and would also incorporate the licensing of those who train or exhibit performing animals. 

 

Each application would have to have an inspection visit prior to the issue of a licence.

 

In order for these changes to be facilitated and implemented, all six Worcestershire District Councils would need to agree that the items listed at section 2 of the report were incorporated into the Worcestershire Shared Services Agreement and Statement of Partnership Requirements.

 

It was noted that the new regulations would come into force on 1st October 2018.  The Licensing and Support Services Manager explained that officers had only received the guidance that supported the regulations, as issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), in mid-August.

 

Paragraph 3.12 in the report detailed the main differences in the new licensing scheme.

 

All current licence holders had been contacted in writing. Officers were also reviewing what additional activities might now be subject to a licence where one would not have been required previously.

 

Members were advised that the new regulations were very prescriptive in how matters should be conducted both in the granting and refusal of a licence and due to this very prescriptive nature of the regulations the Licensing authority was under strict limitations in respect of how it dealt with each application; lending the new regime to a much more administrative approach to animal licensing than the previous one.  The new regime would be more rigorous, require a greater number of inspections and more administration work to support, therefore WRS had decided that an extra officer would need to be employed to cover the additional workload.

 

The proposed fees and charges, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report, had been calculated on a full costs recovery basis and were approximately a 39% increase.  This would be reviewed in 2019/2020.  The proposed fees and charges did represent a significant increase but this was due to the extra work that would have to be undertaken and the cost of engaging an additional officer. 

 

The Licensing and Support Services Manager, WRS, explained that individual guidance had been issued for each licensable activity and there would be three levels of conditions for applicants to comply with; standard conditions, higher conditions and extra higher conditions.  This would be linked to a star rating system and to a risk rating.  The level of risk would determine the number of inspections required each year for any business holding a licence, with most businesses receiving at least two inspections a year.  Business owners would be required to display their star rating to the public.

 

There would be a lead in period after 1st October 2018 with businesses having to move over to the new system as and when their existing licences expired.

 

In response to questions from Members the Licensing and Support Services Manager, WRS stated that each business would be charged a single application fee and then licence fees would be added depending on the activities carried out by the business.  For performing animals a three year licence would be issued as there was no risk assessment.  However, officers would still go out and inspect any such establishments if any concerns were raised via intelligence.  Travelling circuses were exempt from the legislation.

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RECOMMENDED:

a)    that determination of all licensing applications in respect of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 be removed from para 3, Schedule 2, Part II (Matters not Delegated) of the Worcestershire Shared Services Agreement dated 1st April 2016;  

b)    that the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 be added to Schedule 1 Appendix, Part II of the Worcestershire Shared Services Agreement dated 1st April 2016;

c)    that the following wording be added to Part II “Animal Health and Welfare” section of Appendix 1- Statement of Partner Service Requirements to Worcestershire Shared Services Agreement dated 1st April 2016; and

d)    that the proposed fees and charges, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

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