DOG BOARDERS are calling for an independent review of licence fees, which they believe have been illegally created.
Recently, residents who run dog home boarding businesses were being asked to stump up £570 a year in licensing fees, a 379% increase from £199 the year before.
Andy Pragnell, Keephatch resident and owner of dog boarding and walking business, One Man and Your Dog, called the price rise “daylight robbery”.
He told Wokingham.Today: “It’s not the first time this has happened. They tried to put the fees up a year ago, but were challenged and then backed down.”
The charges were set up by the Joint Public Protection Partnership, which includes Wokingham, Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire borough councils.
Now, dog boarders across all three boroughs are calling for immediate action, an independent review of the licensing committee and a reversal of the price hike.
Mr Pragnell said: “The price has skyrocketed, if they keep it, it’ll have a massive impact on my business.
“In the last three months, I’ve had people cancelling bookings after the airlines scrapped their holidays.
“My business is starting to pick up, but earlier this week one person called off two of their holidays in October and January.
“If the costs go up, I will have to increase mine as well, and it’ll be difficult for customers then.”
Mr Pragnell currently charges £25 for a day of dog boarding, but he is worried this might have to increase to £35 if the licence fee remains at £570.
Across all three boroughs, dog boarders have joined together to call for a review.
Their concern is that all licence fees, regardless of business type, have been created and are being managed illegally — because they have all been set at a single price of £57 per hour.
The LGA states that: “Councils that divert fees income from the relevant licensing scheme to fund other licensing work, or to fund other council activities, will be breaking the law.”
But on Thursday, October 24, 2019, in a meeting of the Joint PPP, the Licensing and Safety Committee at Bracknell Forest Council agreed that: “The £57 hourly rate for officer time was a summation of overhead costs of all local authorities within the Public Protection Partnership, which was primarily within central support services in each Local Authority.”
By combining the costs of all local licence fees to reach £57, the PPP is failing to ring fence each pot of money — as required by law.
Karen Fleck, independent dog border in Sandhurst said that licence fees cannot be used to cross subsidise other licences.
She told Wokingham.Today: “They have to be able to provide an audited account of what the money has been spent on — each type of licence should be kept separate.
“And if there is money left in the pot at the end of the year, the LGA says they have to pay us back.”
And dog borders have said the price hike is also off-putting to local business.
The licence costs £570, but DEFRA has set the fine for not complying at a maximum of £500.
The LGA says any price above the fine is “an economic deterrent” to businesses in the area.
Business owners fear this could stop pet care from being registered.
“It would be cheaper to pay the fine and go unregulated and no one wants to do that,” said Mr Pragnell. “As a small business, I want to do things properly, but this could push people underground.”
The Joint PPP has now paused the licence fee, and it will be reviewed due to the numerous complaints.
But Ms Fleck, is concerned about the effectiveness of the review.
“It’s questionable whether it’s a legal fee, and the people reviewing it are the same people who set it.
“They’re reviewing their own work and it appears they’re incompetent.”
In a letter sent to dog boarders across the three boroughs, Sean Murphy, public protection manager, said the fees had been changed to respond to new regulations in 2018.
This, he said, would include more frequent inspection visits with qualified inspectors.
Mr Murphy wrote: “The intention of the licensing scheme was always to deliver high levels of welfare and this required a fee which it was our aim to be phased in.
“Following complaints from a number of license holders, the council is currently reviewing the implementation of the scheme and specifically the renewal costs and payment instalment arrangements, which should have been part of the transition.
“We are therefore pausing the renewal charging process at this stage and will will write to you again shortly with details of the any revised, transitional, renewal process.”
The Joint PPP were unable to provide a comment ahead of our deadline.
Karen Fleck’s petition is available here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/help-local-dog-boarders-reduce-barking-mad-licence-fees
