To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department provides to local authorities to ensure that those authorities have access to fully trained animal welfare inspectors to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Local authorities are able to make decisions based on local needs and the arrangements that work best for them, and it is for local authorities to determine how to prioritise their resources.

The Government is investing in Britain’s future, and this year’s local government finance settlement includes extra funding for local services. Local authorities will have access to £46.4 billion this financial year (2019/20) to meet the needs of their residents including for the protection of animal welfare. This is a cash increase of 2.8% and a real terms increase which will strengthen services and support to local communities.

Local authorities can also ensure that they have fully trained inspectors to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006 through resources available to them to enforce The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The 2018 Regulations give local authorities the power to charge a cost recovery fee to cover the cost of enforcement of the regulations including inspections of premises. The same officers appointed under the regulations are able to enforce the 2006 Act.