The Council’s current stray dog control service was carried out by a private contractor, Animal Wardens Ltd for a cost of £36,000 per annum and was due to expire in March 2023.  The report gave details of the Council’s obligations with regard to stray dogs and the remit of the current contract. 

Cabinet was asked to consider the following two options for the continuation of the service beyond March 2023:

      i.        Work with Hastings Borough Council (HBC) and the East Sussex Procurement Hub (ESPH) to procure and appoint a new contractor based on a similar specification which had proved successful during the last 15 years, both operationally and economically.

    ii.        Carry out the service in-house by employing three dog wardens directly to provide a 24-hour service. This would require the Council to have an additional contract with a kennels and make arrangements to rehouse dogs, not reunited after seven days.  This would present risks to the Council if kennels could not be procured at an economic cost over three to five years. This option would be cost prohibitive as well as operationally less efficient.

Approval was sought for option (i), to tender the stray dog control contract this year, as the contract expired in March 2023 as the most cost-effective way of providing this statutory service.  The procurement would be undertaken by the ESPH and would include Hastings, Rother and Wealden Councils, with a view to expand this to other East Sussex authorities. The 2022/23 budget included provision for expenditure of £40,000 on this service.  It was noted that the increase in dog ownership as a result of the pandemic and the shift to home working, coupled with the return to work movement and the current economic situation would likely lead to an increase in stray dogs; a new contract on the existing terms was therefore recommended and represented excellent value for money.  

RESOLVED: That:

1)    officers work with Hastings Borough Council to jointly procure and appoint a stray dog contractor with an estimated annual cost to Rother District Council of £40,000 and Wealden District Council of £40,000, for a term of three years with an option to extend for a further two years; and

2)    delegated authority be granted to the Deputy Chief Executive to undertake all necessary actions to appoint a contractor.