Agenda and minutes
Venue: via MS Teams
Contact: William Mohieddeen, Democratic Services Officer tel: 01835 824000 ext: 8231 email: william.mohieddeen@scotborders.gov.uk
Link: teamsliveevent
No. | Item |
---|---|
Minute of Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 29 June 2021 to be approved and signed by the Chairman. (Copy attached.) Minutes: There had been circulated
copies of the Minute of the meeting held on Tuesday, 29 June
2021. DECISION |
|
Responsible Dog Ownership Strategy Review PDF 7 MB Presentation on the Responsible Dog Ownership Strategy.
Papers attached – (a) Presentation (b) (i) Report to Council May 2018 (ii) Appendix 3 for report to Council (iii) Appendix 4 for report to Council Additional documents:
Minutes: 2.1 There had been
circulated copies of a presentation on the Responsible Dog
Ownership Strategy Review 2018-2022 along with the original Update
report and appendices on the Responsible Dog Ownership Strategy
& Measures to Control Dog Fouling, which was considered and
approved at the meeting of full Council on 31 May 2018. The Principal Regulatory Services Officer –
Trading Standards & Animal Health, Ms Lloyd gave the
presentation and confirmed that the 2018 recommendations to Council
had all been completed. This included securing the supply of dog bags from
The Dogs Trust. However, this supply
had now ceased due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on The
Dogs Trust and a new supplier of dog bags at a low or zero cost was
being sought. It was further noted that
the post of Information and Education Officer was currently being
advertised. 2.2 Ms Lloyd gave details of the progress made on the key objectives of the Strategy. The key objectives outlined were: - To educate dog owners in the principles of responsible dog ownership. - To raise awareness of the legal responsibilities associated with dog ownership. - To reduce the number of dog fouling instances through education, partnership working and enforcement. - To improve the use of information and intelligence and share this with key partners. - To clarify and raise awareness of the roles and responsibilities of Scottish Borders Council and those of our key partners including Police Scotland. - To improve and simplify the way in which members of the public can report instances of dog fouling. - To work more closely with communities on developing local solutions. -
To ensure that robust enforcement action is taken,
where appropriate. 2.3 Alongside the progress made on the Responsible Dog Ownership Strategy, Ms Lloyd also spoke of the impact of the objectives. Campaign materials aimed at children were produced as part of the education programme on safe behaviour with dogs and keeping dogs safe. Visits were made to events in communities alongside poster campaigns to promote responsible dog ownership. Work was undertaken with PDSA at community events to provide a free basic health check for dogs. Community events visits were ceased due to the onset of the COVID-19 but work in this objective area led to Scottish Borders Council winning the Dogs Trust Partnership Scheme 2018-19. The legal responsibility of dog owners was highlighted. Where dogs were found not to be under control, Scottish Borders Council’s dedicated control officer could enforce relevant legislation to serve a dog control notice including a mandate requiring dogs to be walked on a lead, wear a muzzle or only to be walked in certain areas. It was noted that to support compliance with legislation that Scottish Borders Council had a free programme to implant dog microchips. A stencil and poster campaign was used to pursue a reduction in dog fouling instances. In highlighting work on improving the use of information and intelligence, it was noted that legislation was under review to determine if a dog ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
|
Any Other Scrutiny Items which the Chairman Decides are Urgent. Minutes: Councillor Greenwell raised
the matter of the Scottish Borders Autism Strategy which had been
launched in 2015 and needed to be reviewed to assess its
effectiveness and whether this could be included in the Scrutiny
Work Programme. Members heard that the
Scottish Borders Autism Strategy was owned by the H&SC
Integrated Joint Board and not by Scottish Borders Council so may
be better reviwed through the Integrated Joint Board and undertook
to check on the most appropriate process for a review of the
Scottish Borders Autism Strategy.
Members were supportive of the Committee reviewing the
effectiveness of the Strategy if possible.
|