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Dog licence fees

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WQ.314/2023

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHAIR OF THE COMITÉ DES CONNÉTABLES BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 10th JULY 2023

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 17th JULY 2023

Question

"In relation to dog licences, will the Chair advise –

  1. the total sum raised across all the Parishes from dog licences, together with a breakdown of the numbers for each Parish, for each of the last three years; and
  2. the process that determines how this sum is used and how it has been used over this period?"

Answer

  1. The Dogs (Jersey) Law 1961 ("the 1961 Law") requires a person keeping a dog to have a licence in respect of that dog. However, as set out in Article 3 a licence is not required for -

a dog under the age of 6 months;

a dog kept and used solely by a blind person for his or her guidance;

a dog, kept and used by a deaf person, which has been trained by an organization which exists to train dogs for that purpose, to assist that person to overcome disabilities caused by his or her deafness.

The fee for a licence is £10 per dog (applicable from 1 March 2020). The licence remains in force until 31 January and licences renewed after that date incur a double fee of £20.

The income by Parish for the financial years ended 30 April 2021, 2022 and 2023 is set out in the table below. This income is as recorded in the Parish's audited annual accounts which are available on the Parish's website (audit of some 2023 accounts still to be completed).  

PARISH  2023 dog licence  Notes  2022 dog licence  2021 dog licence

income  income  income

St Brelade  £15,371  Net of direct costs  £16,045  £16,670

St Clement  £11,863  £12,602  £12,111 Grouville  £7,470  Unaudited accounts  £7,142  £6,442

St Helier  £14,383  Unaudited accounts  £16,850  £15,550

St John  £4,705  Included in sundry income'  £4,500  £5,465

St Lawrence  £5,890  £6,490  £5,905

St Martin  £6,679  Net figure in accounts  £6,215  £6,308

St Mary  £3,161  £3,221  £3,070

St Ouen  £6,560  Unaudited accounts  £6,610  £6,345

St Peter  £7,670  £6,650  £7,590

St Saviour  £13,930  £14,062  £14,210 Trinity  £5,930  £4,920  £4,955 Total  £103,612  £105,307  £104,621

Note: a snapshot of the number of dog licences is published on the Parishes websites each spring.

  1. The fee for a dog licence is credited to the General Account of the Parish in which it is received in accordance with Article 4(5) of the 1961 Law. The fees are therefore applied to the general expenses of the Parish and not to specific uses.

The Parish Assembly, when approving the budget each year, determines how funds in the General Account will be used. All expenditure from the General Account is detailed in the Parish's annual accounts which are adopted by the Parish Assembly and available on the Parish website.

The expenditure incurred by a Parish will include costs which relate to the 1961 Law such as:

the administration costs of dog licences which includes staff time and materials (including system costs) to issue a dog licence and to maintain a register of licences in accordance with Article 4 of the 1961 Law; and

dealing with stray dogs – the Parish arranges the contract for the collection and housing of stray dogs whilst the dog owner is responsible for paying all expenses incurred by reason of the detention of a stray dog which has been seized (Article 7 of the 1961 Law).