Agenda item

Consideration was given to report of the Service Manager Public Protection.

The Service Manager Public Protection presented the report which provided an update on the Animal Health, Welfare & Licensing work undertaken between by Powys CC on behalf of Blaenau Gwent.

The Officer spoke to the report and highlighted points contained therein.  Appendix 1 outlined the total number of premises in Blaenau Gwent covered by these arrangements, and Appendices 2 to 4 outlined the Service Plans and activities for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 (up to 19^th October, 2021) respectively.  Section 6 provided a summary of key operations completed and ongoing since the start of the partnership.

A Member asked how many days per week under the SLA were allocated to responding to issues within Blaenau Gwent.

The Powys CC Officer explained that Officers undertook routine planned inspections, and any other work was reactive in terms of responding to issues as and when required.  A significant amount of time was also spent on intelligence gathering.  He could not provide a definitive answer in terms of the number of days allocated to Blaenau Gwent, but felt that Blaenau Gwent were getting value for money under the SLA arrangement.

The Member said the service should be brought back under the remit of the Council, particularly in light of the new dog breeding legislation coming into force, and the increase in illegal dog breeding in the Borough.  She also reported that she had been informed by a well-known animal rescue organisation that there seemed to be a lack of engagement with Blaenau Gwent compared to other LA’s in relation to unlicensed breeders and animal welfare concerns.

In response the Service Manager Public Protection pointed out that the Council entered into the SLA with Powys as we did not have the expertise and resilience in house to provide the service, and that was still the case.  To bring the service back in-house would mean a significant growth item for the Council, and leave us with challenges in terms of providing the service with the lack of expertise.

The Team Manager Trading Standards agreed, he said with the service coming under the Trading Standards section, he was grateful for the expertise of Powys CC and would be concerned if this ceased.  He said this was a specialised area of work and recruitment was challenging, and he would have concerns to recruit to the level required.  In terms of the workload he said this had increased particularly with the issues of illegal dog breeding, but he pointed out that this was an issue nationally, but the answer was not to lose the expertise available from Powys CC.

A Member proposed that due to the significant animal welfare issues and straying animals within the Borough that the Council consider reinstating an animal welfare service.

The proposal was seconded.

A vote was thereupon taken.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and the content of the report be noted and Members support the work of the service going forward. (Option 1).