Dogs: Animal Housing
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on determining the appropriate frequency of inspections for licensed dog home boarding businesses.
Answered by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (LAIA) (England) Regulations 2018 are accompanied by statutory guidance for local authorities which they must have regard to. This guidance sets out that inspections of premises must be carried out upon application or renewal of a licence. The frequency of inspections therefore depends on the duration of the licence, which is determined by its star rating.
The LAIA Regulations require that fees for licences, which includes inspections, are reasonable and proportionate. Local authorities are encouraged to use the Local Government Animal Welfare Group’s (LGAWG) non-statutory guidance on fee setting.
Additionally, local authorities are required to submit an annual data return to the Secretary of State which includes costs of licences. Previous data returns can be found here.
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