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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of guidance to local authorities on publishing the costs of mid term inspections for licensed dog home boarding businesses.

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.