Briefing note for Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Animal Control Team
The Animal Control Team consists of an Animal Control Officer and an Animal
Control Assistant line managed by the Environmental Protection Team
Leader. In recent years the team has become a part of the wider
Environmental Protection Team and the roles and responsibilities adapted to
cover the wider environmental crime issues of fly tipping, abandoned vehicles,
littering and anti social behaviour. However for the purposes of this briefing
the core services provided by the team are listed below:
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Investigation of infestations of rats and mice
Maintenance of a network of 31 permanent bait stations across the
district
Delivery of Pest Control Contracts
Collection of stray dogs
Enforcement of the Dog Control Orders in conjunction with the
Environmental Protection Officers
These services are described in more detail below:
Investigation of infestation of rats and mice
The Council has a duty under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 to
keep its land free from rats and mice and to enforce the duties of owners and
occupiers of land to report infestations and keep their own land free from rats
and mice.
In the last financial year we investigated 120 complaints of rats and mice on
land. All of these cases were resolved informally with no need for notices to
be served to require clean ups. To date this year with have received 43
complaints, this is line with the number of complaints received at the same
time last year (49).
These figures do not include requests for service from home owners for
domestic pest control services as these are referred to our approved
contractor Pest Express Ltd.
Maintenance of Permanent Bait Stations across the District
In order to ensure our land is clear of rats and mice, as required by the
Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, a network of 31 Permanent Bait
Stations have been established. The stations are serviced on a six weekly
basis and more regularly whenever rat activity increases. The cost of baiting
these stations is approximately £300 per annum. This figure does not include
the hidden staff costs, lease costs for the vehicles or mileage costs. Costing
the servicing of the permanent bait stations on a commercial basis, as though
NNDC were offering the contract, indicates that these bait stations would cost
between £5000 and £6000 per annum if undertaken by an external contractor.
Pest Control Contracts
The Council still has a number of contracts with local businesses that it
services. These contracts are serviced on a six weekly basis. The contracts
are relics of the comprehensive in house pest control service the Council used
to provide. They have been retained in order to continue service to
businesses and as they generated income. However, the number of contracts
serviced has declined to 10 and will raise approximately £1884 (ex VAT) of
revenue this year. This is down from over £4500 of revenue in 2010/11.
Collection of Stray Dogs
During office hours Animal Control Officers will collect stray dogs that have
been contained and, either return them to their owners or, transport them to
the appointed kennel contractor, Norstead Hall Kennels, where they will be
held for seven days or until the owner collects the dog. Where a dog is
collected by the kennels the owners of that dog are charged the mileage cost
in addition to kennel and statutory release fees. The cost of collecting and
transporting dogs to kennels using our officers is not passed onto the owner.
We are currently investigating making the charging scheme more equitable for
those who lose dogs that are more remote from the contractor’s location and
to recover the costs incurred by the Council of collecting a stray.
Out of office hours we have a limited service at weekends and bank holidays
provided by two local vet practices. Members of the public who call in
reporting that they have found a stray are referred via the duty officer to the
practices to arrange to take the dog to the vet. This meets the requirements
specified in legislation.
A considerable proportion of the stray dogs reported to the Council occur
outside of normal office hours and of these a significant proportion find their
way back to owners without the Council handling the dog or are dealt with the
next working day.
More detail on the kennel contract is provided in Services delivered by
contractors.
Enforcement of Dog Control Orders
The Council currently has three dog control orders, one district wide order
covering dog fouling and two seasonal orders banning dogs from eight
beaches and requiring dogs to be on leads on eight promenades and
slipways, between 1 May and 30 September each year. In addition a set of
new Control Orders banning dogs from areas such as children’s play areas
are due to be created by the end of the year.
Patrolling of these areas is undertaken in conjunction with Environmental
Protection Officers and combined with litter patrols. On average the team
undertake 2 days worth of patrols every week through the peak season.
Services delivered by Contractors:
In addition to these services the council currently has contracts with Norstead
Hall Kennels for the kennelling of stray dogs and Pest Express Ltd to provide
domestic pest control.
Both contracts are out of time and need renewal.
Kennel Contract
The Council has a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to
collect and kennel stray dogs, this duty was historically shared with the Police,
but with the introduction of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act
2005 it is now the sole responsibility of Councils. Strays reported during
normal opening hours are collected either by the Animal Control Team or the
Kennels and either returned to the owner or taken to the kennels where they
are kept for up to seven days before being vested to the Kennels for rehoming.
There is also an expectation that the Council will, where reasonably
practicable, provide reception facilities for finders of strays to take dogs to
outside normal office hours. The council has informal arrangements with two
vets for kennelling of stray dogs over the weekends and bank holidays only.
These arrangements rely on the vets having space in their kennels. During
the week there are no reception facilities. The council receives on average
two calls a week relating to stray dogs found outside office hours.
The existing kennel contract has a budget of £12k per annum. Tender
paperwork has been completed and returned by two kennels and are in the
final stages of evaluation prior to recommendations being made to Council.
Initial findings suggest that the contract can be renewed with just a modest
increase in costs. Full analysis of the costs will be available on completion of
the tender process.
The tender process also allows for the provision of an out of hours reception
service which can be assessed separately from the main contract.
The out of hours provision within the tender has not been assessed in detail
however it is estimated that the cost of providing such a service will be
approximately £15k per annum plus costs for dogs not claimed.
Pest Control
The Council entered into a contract with Pest Express Ltd on the 10
November 2008 to provide a domestic pest control service at a discounted
rate to the residents of North Norfolk. The contract was extended to the 31st
March 2011 and has since lapsed although the contractor continues to honour
the agreed prices and service to residents is unaffected. The current cost of a
rat treatment is £37 with a wasps nest treatment being £41.
The Council receives no money from either residents or Pest Express in
relation to this contract agreement and therefore the only risk to the Council is
reputational.
Historically there have been very few complaints about the service provided
by Pest Express. The company changed hands approximately 18months ago
and meetings have taken place with the new management to ensure continue
high levels of service for residents and to address an issue with reporting on
levels of activity undertaken.
It is nearly three years since the market was last tested. Re tendering the
contract is likely to result in an increase in costs to residents, however there
would be an advantage in that any increases could be defined over the life of
the contract. As the current contract has expired there is little control that can
be exercised other than to withdraw from the agreement in its entirety or
continue with the current prices for as long as the contractor is prepared to
stand by them.