Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on the adequacy of the notice period required when applying for a specific licence and the time to communicate the decision to applicants.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

A specific licence must be applied for at least 20 days before a planned gathering. This is to allow sufficient time to undertake an individual risk assessment and to inform the gathering organiser whether in principle, the gathering could be licensed. As provisional approval is based on the risk at the time of application, the risk will need to be re-assessed within 7 days of the event, in case the risk has changed. Defra has ongoing discussions with APHA to streamline the assessment process.