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Section 7: Training and Competence Certification of Drivers of Livestock Vehicles and Attendants
Introduction
7.1. From 5 January 2008 all transporters and attendants using road vehicles for transporting farm animals, poultry and horses in connection with an economic activity, for journeys over 65km, must have received appropriate training and must hold a certificate of competence (Article 6).
Current position
7.2. Training currently exists which leads up to Scottish Vocational Qualifications ( SVQ) and is provided by industry, agricultural colleges and commercial providers. Government should not therefore change these arrangements, which if needed can be modified by providers to ensure coverage of any additional competencies required under the new EU rules. There is, however, no mandatory scheme for certification of competence although existing certification schemes provide this on a voluntary basis as set out in WATO. These apply to transport of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses (but not poultry) on journeys over 8 hours.
Current standards in livestock transport workforce
7.3. Transporters currently holding Specific Authorisations for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses will hold either:
(i) Certificates of competence issued by their employers or issued by themselves if self employed;
(ii) Certificates issued by independent bodies approved by Ministers such as the National Proficiency Test Council Part of the City and Guilds Group ( NPTC) or Road Haulage Association ( RHA);
(iii) Qualifications approved by Ministers, currently the NPTC Level 2 Certificate of Competence in the Transport of Animals by Road, accredited by the UK regulator the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority ( QCA). Guidance on WATO describes the qualifications as they were at the time of publication as:
(a) S/ NVQ Level 2 in Transporting Goods by Road (livestock haulage) Units 5,6 and 7
(b) S/ NVQ level 3 in Racehorse Care and Management (maintain health and well being of horses during transport) Unit 3.04;
(c) S/ NVQ Level 3 in Horse Care and Management (maintain health and well being of horses during transport) Unit 3.04.
Transporters of poultry are not currently required to formally demonstrate competence by qualification or certification.
Who will be affected?
7.4. Any driver/attendant transporting farm animals by road on journeys over 65km in connection with an economic activity. Despite discussions with industry sectors it has been difficult to obtain a clear figure for the number of drivers and attendants who will require certification. If we include those newly brought into certification requirements (farmers and transporters of farm animals and horses involved in journeys of between 65km and 8 hours and poultry transporters) this could mean the certification of several thousand individuals.
7.5. Transport of poultry is for the first time brought within the requirement for competence certification but those catching and putting birds into the transport crates are not required to hold certificates. The Regulation does permit member states to apply additional rules which improve welfare, so catchers could be brought within the scope of certification. However this is not the focus of this consultation. For the time being we propose to address the issue of competent catching through guidance. It will in any case be an offence to use violence or do anything likely to cause unnecessary suffering and transporters should have undergone some training. Transporters are also obliged to entrust the handing of animals to personnel who have received training on the relevant provisions of Annexes I & II under Articles 3(3) & 6(4).
What is required from 5 January 2008?
7.6. Compulsory independent transporter/attendant competence certification is a new requirement replacing certification by the employer of the driver/attendant. Poultry transport is also now covered for the first time.
7.7. A certificate of competence in the format shown in Appendix 5 to this document must be issued by the competent authority or a body designated by the Member State. The certificate must be submitted with applications for transporter authorisation for long journeys. We must therefore develop and introduce a scheme that is self funding (i.e. by applicants or their employers bearing the costs).
Detailed requirements
7.8. Elements of competence required are set out in the Regulation (Annex IV). However to clarify these, draft frameworks of competences have been prepared and agreed in initial discussions with key stakeholders. Those for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses can be seen in Appendix 4a and for poultry in Appendix 4b.
7.9. Standards for accreditation of awarding bodies must be set to ensure that awards are to a common standard. It is therefore proposed that, once basic criteria have been agreed, accreditation of the awarding body and regulation by recognised organisations expert in this field would be required. These would be the Scottish Qualifications Authority ( SQA), the United Kingdom Accreditation Service ( UKAS), the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority ( QCA) in England and Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales ( ACCAC) in Wales. The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment ( CCEA) and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Northern Ireland ( QCANI) have similar roles in Northern Ireland but generally work in conjunction with QCA.
7.10. Checks of validity of certificates by the State Veterinary Service in their role as issuers of authorisations and by enforcers such as Local Authorities must be facilitated by adequate record keeping by the awarding bodies. A central electronic database of all certificates issued has been considered but to require awarding bodies to set this up would be additional to the Regulation's requirements and setting up or incorporating into Defra's AMES database would be costly to Government. Requiring awarding bodies to respond to requests for information from authorities within agreed time limits should be a workable alternative.
How can we ensure credible certification without undue burdens?
7.11. This is clearly an enormous task and we must apply requirements with proportionality and regard to risk. We propose to apply a two-tier system of certification:
(i) Those involved in long journeys could be assessed to the highest level, including practical assessment of their driving and animal handling skills;
(ii) Those involved in shorter journeys could be assessed by means of a theory test.
7.12. We would not want to be the issuing body for certification, but jointly with Defra will publish the required standards in terms of scope, the required competencies which will need to be demonstrated, independence, accountability and audit requirements which issuing bodies will need to adhere. We would then invite submission of schemes / prospectuses from potential issuing bodies.
1. These standards would be expected to be accredited by the recognised expert bodies in this field as described in para 7.9 above.
2. If considered to be robust and meeting the required standard, we would nominate as issuing bodies:
(i) Organisations holding the necessary accreditation described above. These bodies could include independent assessors currently referred to in the guidance on the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997, new providers, specific species/sector representative bodies or industry quality assurance schemes.
(ii) Examining bodies for new or existing SVQs at levels 2 and 3.
Q.34 Do you agree that satisfactory certification of the competence of transporters and attendants is best achieved by offering both the above options? If not, what would you prefer to see in place? |
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