Dog Breeding Licences

Dear Ms Hogg

Thank you for your request received earlier today, for which I acknowledge receipt.

Your request is now being dealt with in accordance with the Act and will be due for response no later than 20 November, in accordance with the statutory time limit of 20 working days.

I will write to you in advance should the processing of your request require any further any information/clarification from you.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator – FOI and EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

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Dear Ms Hogg

I write with regard to your request that is currently being processed by the Licensing team.

Unfortunately they require until the end of the week to able to finish the request, due to a high level of service demand at present, therefore I will need to extend the deadline from 20 to 24 November.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this small extension may cause.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator, FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

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Dear Ms Hogg

I write in response to your request for information received 23 October 2020. I am pleased to confirm that the extension that was previously advised of in my e-mail below is no longer required as the responding officer has been able to complete the request earlier today.

Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform you whether it holds information of the description specified in your request. I confirm that the Council does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) I can provide you with the following response:

•Number of applications for a new licence in last 12 months = Two (please note numbers refer to the period 16.11.19 to 15.11.20)

•Number of applications for a licence renewals in last 12 months = Three

•Number of new licences granted as a result of an application made in the last 12 months = Six

•Number of licences renewed as a result of an application made in the last 12 months = Three

•If appropriate, grounds on which any licence (new or renewal) was refused = N/A

•A copy of each dog breeding licence currently issued = Please see attached. The names of the individual licence holders have not been redacted as they are already published on the Council's public register, via the website and are therefore already in the public domain:

https://licensing.northdevon.gov.uk/PAfo...

•Please confirm the number of staff and qualifications of staff employed by each licence holder (for the avoidance of doubt I am not requesting any details of individual staff, just number employed by each licence holder and the qualification(s) held) = Please refer to the attached Word document 'Dog Breeder'.

•When applying for a new licence or a renewal which of the following do you require in respect of the animals specified in the licence

oName = No
oGender = Yes
oAge and/or date of birth = Yes
oMicrochip number = No
oBreed = Yes
oDescription = No
oDate of purchase = No

•Where a breeder buys/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? = Notified at the time of the renewal application or during an announced visit.

•What steps, if any, do you take to ensure that each breeder complies with The Microchipping of Dogs (England) 2015 regulations? = This is checked as part of the licence inspection and if there was non-compliance, it would be raised with the licence holder.

•Number of staff employed to conduct inspections during last 12 months = 1 ½ staff dealing with all animal licensing, in addition to other licensing duties.

•Total number of inspections conducted during last 12 months = Five

•Number of litters produced (and number of puppies in each litter) by each licence holder = The information is not held by the Licensing team, however, a sample of the litter records are evidenced during the licence inspection.

•If you keep records of Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme members please confirm which licence holders are also members of this scheme = Please refer to the Word document 'Dog Breeders'.

•Price charged for new licence = £235 application fee, £200 vet costs and if application is successful, £180 licence fee.

•Price charged for renewal of a licence = £235 application fee and if application is successful, £180 licence fee.

•Has any licence been revoked or suspended in the last 12 months? If so, please provide details of licence holder and reason for revocation or suspension = No

•Number of complaints received in the last 12 months and the name of the licence holder complained about. 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) = Five

One complaint - Cinder Paws. Please note that due to the impact of COVID-19, this premises licence has expired, however is permitted to operate under a temporary licence as they have made an application and have been inspected. The premises and licence holder(s) does not currently show on the public register via the website for this reason, and so the names of the licence holders are withheld at this time whilst the temporary licence remains in place.

I consider this withheld information to be exempt under Section 40 of the Act as the information constitutes personal data and identifies living individual(s) that would have not reasonable expectation for the Council to make their data publicly available at this time. Section 40(2) provides that personal data is exempt information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3A), (3B) or (4A) is satisfied.

In this case Section 40(3A)(A) is met because disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing principle contained in the General Data Protection Regulation. This is an absolute exemption and there is therefore no requirement to consider the public interest.

It is understood that as soon as the expired licence has been renewed, the details of the licence holder(s) will be made available via the public register as with the other licences that are currently active.

One Complaint - Mr Muglestone, Hallslake Farm.

Two complaints - Katrina Bryant, Warmscombe Farm.

One complaint - Billy and Roxy Fairchild, West Radley.

Please note all complaints are investigated. None of the complaints as referred to above resulted in any enforcement action.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to request an internal review which should be received within two months from the date of this response email and should be sent to;

Solicitor & Data Protection Officer
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510
Email: [email address]

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator, FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

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Dear Ms Hogg

Thank you for your e-mail, this has been referred onto our Licensing team and I now await their reply.

I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator – FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
[North Devon Council request email]

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Dear Ms Hogg

We have received the following responses from our Licensing team to your supplementary questions.

Question: I note that the copy licences provided do not state the number and type of animals kept for breeding purposes. Is the number and type of animal specified in any attachment to the licence? Alternatively, please confirm if it is council policy not to record the number and type of animals kept for breeding purposes on the licence or any related attachment.

Answer: This information is not a requirement on the application form but needs to be provided as a separate document.

Question: Please now confirm the number and type of animals kept for breeding purposes by each licence holder. Please also confirm if there are any special conditions attached to any licences, for example, a limit on the number of litters at any one time.

Answer:
24 Beechfield Rd -5 bitches,
Beople Basset -7 bitches, 4 stud dogs
Boxerway -3 bitches
Court Green -7 bitches, 1 stud dog
Hallslake -40 bitches, 4 stud dogs
Shoshone -21 bitches
Warmscombe -29 bitches
West Radley-22 bitches, 3 stud dogs
Westfield Fisheries -3 bitches

There are no special conditions attached to any of the licences.

Yours sincerely

Helen Briton for
Vicky Eagle
Administrator – FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
[North Devon Council request email]

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