The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member
Development updated the Board on progress made in implementing the
recommendations arising from the Scrutiny review of the phase 2 Dog
Control Orders project.
A draft status had been assigned to each of
the recommendations and in assessing the progress made, the Board
was asked to either agree or change the status for each
recommendation.
The following were in attendance for this
item:
- Councillor Mark Dobson –
Executive Member for Environment
- Tom Smith, Locality Manager (South
and Outer East Leeds)
- Gill Marshall, Section Head, Legal,
Licensing and Registration Services
- Sean Flesher, Head of Parks and
Countryside
- Councillor Joseph Marjoram, former
Board Member
The following issues were discussed:
- Recommendation 5 – Non-payment
of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)
It was reported that there were
higher levels of non-payment in respect of FPNs issued for those
with who had breached the ‘dogs on leads’ orders than
for dog fouling. It was thought that
this was possibly as a result of less awareness of the more recent
orders. All unpaid FPNs would be
pursued through the courts. Further
issues discussed in relation to this recommendation included:
- Safety for staff issuing and
pursuing FPNs – it was reported that full risk assessments
were carried out and staff did not have to carry out their duties
alone where it was felt there could be problems.
- Dog owners were still liable for
FPNs when carelessly discarding dog bags instead of placing them in
bins as this becomes a littering offence.
- Members requested information on the
numbers of FPNs issued in the last 2 year and how these had been
dealt with.
- The need to ensure mechanisms are
place for identifying repeat offenders prior to allowing the
discharge of a further offence through an FPN.
It was agreed to keep Recommendation
5 at Category 4 i.e. that the progress made is acceptable and to
continue monitoring.
- Recommendation 6 – Expanding
staffing resources to enforce FPNs
- Enforcement staff within locality
teams were contracted to work between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and
7.00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Additional
weekend work could be arranged but was subject to additional
cost.
- PCSOs had been trained to take
professional witness statements but not to issue FPNs. This was also the case for Parks and Countryside
patrol staff.
- Concern was expressed by some
Members regarding working hours arrangements as it was felt that
they did not sufficiently cover the main hours for when offences
occurred.
It was agreed to keep Recommendation 6 at Category 4.
- Recommendation 7 – Dog Control
Orders – Communication
- It was requested that Elected
Members were kept informed of any microchipping events and campaign
work.
- Requests for any hotspot areas to be
targeted would be considered.
- Leaflets and flyers had been
distributed to raise awareness.
It was agreed to keep Recommendation
7 at Category 4.
- Recommendation 9 – Playing
pitches used by schools
- The Board received clarification of
the legal advice that was provided to the Dog Control Order Project
Board in relation to this recommendation.
- In consideration of this legal
advice, the Board agreed that further work should be undertaken
with Ward Members to identify enforcement solutions within those
areas where particular concerns had been raised rather than trying
to adopt a city-wide approach that could be deemed
disproportionate.
- Members also
acknowledged the Government’s proposal to replace Dog Control
Orders with Community Protection Orders, as set out within the
White Paper ‘More effective responses to anti-social
behaviour’. In view of this, the
Board agreed to schedule a further update later this
year.
It was agreed to keep Recommendation
9 at Category 4
RESOLVED – That the
report and discussion be noted.