Freedom of information response

Our queries aim to gather information on the licensing process, the number of licenses issued or renewed, staff qualifications, inspection reports, and compliance with regulations.

We would like to request the following information:

Application Process:

- What is the current process for a constituent applying for a breeding licence? For example, is it possible to apply online, by phone, or by completing an application form? Please provide any relevant links or details.  All the information required, including the application form, is available online at Breeding dogs | Animal licensing | Thurrock Council

- What is the price charged for a new breeding licence? £380 plus variable vet costs

- What is the price charged for the renewal of a breeding licence? £380 plus variable vet costs

Licence Statistics:

- How many applications for a new licence have been received in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=0; 2022=0;  2021=2; 2020=1 2019=5

- How many applications for a licence renewal have been received in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=1; 2022=3; 2021=4; 2020=4; 2019=3

- How many new licences have been granted as a result of an application made in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=0; 2022=0; 2021=2; 2020=1; 2019=5

- How many licences have been renewed as a result of an application made in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=1; 2022=3; 2021=4; 2020=4; 2019=3

- If appropriate, please provide the grounds on which any licence (new or renewal) was refused.

No licences were refused across this time period specified.

- Of the list of approved licensed breeders, please confirm the number of staff and qualifications of staff employed by each private licence holder. We are not requesting any personal details of individual staff, just the number employed by each licence holder and their qualifications. We do not retain this information on our system however, the number of staff and qualifications held are checked on inspection to ensure the relevant conditions around staffing are met.

Staff and Licensing Regulations:

- How many staff members within the authority are responsible for enforcing licensing regulations and what are their roles and responsibilities relating specifically to dog breeding licenses? We are not requesting any personal details of individual staff, just the job title and the roles and responsibilities of that position (usually outlined in a role of job description) 1 qualified Licensing officer plus support from 3 officers (currently undertaking their qualification) where required. 

Lead officer for animal welfare is responsible for:

• Processing all new applications for animal activity licences and carrying out the required inspections and risk assessments in order to proceed to issue a licence;
• Mid-term and renewal inspections for existing licence holders;. 
• Investigating complaints and proactively looking for and enforcing against unlicensed businesses engaged in licensable animal activities.

- What is the process/protocol that the authority takes for issuing a licence? For example, is there an inspection and report, and if so, please share the policy or protocol documents produced by your authority, or alternatively outline this process in your response.

Following an application and the fee being received, an inspection is carried out and a report and risk assessment produced to decide on the rating for the licence to be issued, which in turn dictates the length of the licence.  The LAIA regulations and statutory guidance are used to ensure compliance and referred to throughout the process.

- If you conduct an inspection, what information do you collect for a report? For example, name, gender, microchip numbers, etc. Please list any information categories collected.

The sections included on the report are as follows:

Records

Staffing

Environment

Diet

Monitoring of behaviour and training of animals

Animal handling and interactions

Protection from Pain, Suffering, Injury and Disease

Emergencies

- What is the process/protocol for responding to a report of a breach of licensing regulation? All complaints must be in writing and will receive an initial response within 10 working days from the lead officer for animal welfare.

And what is the process of dealing with a suspected breach? For example, is there an inspection, report, warning, or termination of the licence notification, court proceedings? Initial contact is made with the licence holder to obtain further information and a visit to the premises is scheduled to investigate the claim further.  The outcome of this investigation will determine the next steps, and these could include a warning (verbal or written), review of the rating given to the premises and potentially prosecution.

- Do you keep a database of reports on suspected licensing breaches? All complaints are retained on a document retention system.

If yes, please share the number of reports you have received for suspected licensing breaches. During the past 5 years there have been 2 complaints made against licensed breeders.

- What conditions or scenarios warrant a termination of a license?  Failure to adhere to the licence conditions combined with an unwillingness to work with the authority to make necessary changes / improvements or multiple substantiated serious complaints.

- If a breeder buys or sells a breeding dog during the period of an issued licence, do you require them to notify you of the change at the time of the sale/purchase of the dog, or are records only updated at the time of the renewal application?  This is checked at the renewal inspection.

- What steps, if any, do you take to ensure that each breeder complies with The Microchipping of Dogs (England) 2015 regulations? 

 The requirements around microchipping are as follows, and these requirements are covered during the application inspection:

• The licence holder must ensure that each puppy is microchipped and registered to the licence holder before it is sold;
• The animal must be microchipped in accordance with the current legislation;
• The breeder must be registered as the first keeper;
• The licence holder must keep a record of each puppy sale including the microchip number of the puppy;
• The licence holder must keep a record in relation to each breeding dog its microchip and database details.

 Inspection Records:

- How many staff were employed to conduct inspections during in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=1 2022=1 2021=2 2020=2 2019=2

- How many inspections were conducted during in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

2023=1 2022=3 2021=6 2020=5 2019=8

- How many litters were produced (and how many puppies in each litter) by each licence holder in the last 5 years? (broken down by year)

This data is not collected however, the records of litters for each bitch in the breeding programme is checked on inspection.

- If you keep records of Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme members, please confirm which licence holders are also members of this scheme. This data is not collected.

Complaints:

- Has any licence been revoked or suspended in the last 5 years? (broken down by year) If so, please provide details of the licence holder and the reason for revocation or suspension. No licences were revoked or suspended during the time period specified.

- How many complaints have you received in the last 5 years? (broken down by year), and which licence holder(s) have been complained about?

2023=0; 2022=2; 2021=0; 2020=0; 2019=0

- Where a complaint has resulted in enforcement action, please confirm what enforcement action was taken and the name of the licence holder (or refer to answer above if details already provided in relation to revocation or suspension of licence).  The two complaints received were resolved at an early stage and did not result in enforcement action.

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own use, including non-commercial research purposes. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner.

Where the copyright is owned by Thurrock Council, you must apply to the Council to re-use the information. Please email information.matters@thurrock.gov.uk if you wish to re-use the information you have been supplied. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the council have managed your FOI request you can pursue an Internal Review by contacting us using the above email address. An internal review must be submitted within 40 working days of your original reply. Your request will be considered by a senior member of the Information Management Team who will update you with the outcome of the review.

If you remain unhappy following the outcome of your Internal Review you may wish to refer your case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and details of this organisation can be found at www.ico.org.uk . Please be advised that the ICO will not consider your case until they have confirmation that you have already been through the Internal Review stage with the council.