Farriers (Registration) Bill (First sitting)

George Eustice Excerpts

Committee Debate: House of Commons
Tuesday 7th March 2017 Public Bill Committees

The regulation of this industry is important and has legal consequences, so I can understand why the Government would not do so. Any industry that effectively regulates itself does not necessarily provide the independent regulation that is required. I recognise the concerns that the Government may have, but I ask whether there are measures they can take to try to bring the industry together.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

May I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Gower on bringing forward this Bill, which enjoys full Government support? As the shadow Minister pointed out, we held a consultation on this issue in 2013. The intention is, at the request of the Farriers Registration Council, to revisit the legislation to enable the council to modernise its procedures. The Farriers Registration Council is an important organisation. It was established by the 1975 Act to maintain a register of farriers, to determine who is eligible to practise and to approve farrier training. The Farriers Registration Council is a light-touch regulatory body that focuses on regulating the individual and leaves the farrier free to adopt the business model of their choice.

I will not rehearse the detailed intention behind each clause because my hon. Friend the Member for Gower has outlined that. In summary, first, the Bill establishes a new schedule that enables us to revisit the constitution of the Farriers Registration Council. I will return to that in a moment, given the points made my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle. Secondly, in order to establish a degree of independence that it was felt was wanted, the Bill makes changes to the constitution of the disciplinary committee and the investigating committee to ensure that members of those committees cannot also be members of the council. Thirdly and importantly, clause 2 establishes a power for us to revisit issues such as the constitution of the Farriers Registration Council and its committees through secondary legislation. Most of us here today would probably think it unnecessary to have primary legislation to make decisions about the constitution of a particular committee of the Farriers Registration Council.

The original 1975 Act sought to maintain some continuity with the very good work done by the Worshipful Company of Farriers, which can trace its origins right back to 1356. In fact, the company is No. 55 on the register of the City of London livery companies. The 1975 Act always intended to maintain a link between the Worshipful Company of Farriers and the Farriers Registration Council. That is why it charged the Worshipful Company of Farriers with the function of

“securing adequate standards of competence and conduct”

among farriers, and the duty of promoting, encouraging and advancing the

“art and science of farriery”.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle pointed out, under the legislation, it is the role of the Worshipful Company of Farriers to provide three appointees to the Farriers Registration Council, but we are making a number of important changes.

I reassure my hon. Friend that I, too, have had meetings with farriers on both sides of the debate. I have met those who felt that the Worshipful Company of Farriers had too great a role. They raised two particular issues. First, they felt there should be 50% representation of working farriers. Secondly, they had concerns about the ability of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, under the original Act, to directly appoint a chairman of the Farriers Registration Council. I listened to those concerns, but I reassure him that they are not felt universally by all farriers. I have also had farriers contact me to say that they are perfectly happy with the current arrangements, that they have great confidence in the Worshipful Company of Farriers, and that they would not want to break that link.

We have therefore sought to build a compromise that addresses all of those concerns. First, we have made it clear that the Worshipful Company of Farriers will no longer directly appoint a chairman of its choosing. In future, the members of the council will decide who is their chairman. That does not prevent there being a convention, if it is the will of the members of the council, for the Worshipful Company of Farriers to advance options or nominations to be considered alongside others. However, it means that the worshipful company will no longer have the power to directly appoint a chairman.

The second change is that, of the three appointees the worshipful company must make, at least one must be a working farrier. It is possible for all three to be working farriers, meaning that, of the 16 members, a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine will be working farriers. It is likely that, more often than not, the majority of council members will be working farriers, which I think strikes the right balance. If the council were predominantly constituted of farriers and did not, as currently, have veterinary experts, representatives of the horse industry and other experts in the field, there would be the danger of regulatory capture. That is the counter-argument that has been made by others in the worshipful company. I hope that the compromises we have made strike the right balance in that regard and mean that hon. Members feel able to support the Bill.

Finally, I simply say that it is important that councils such as this have a collegiate manner and work together, based on the evidence of individual cases and particular problems. We do not want a system in which there is a bloc vote of working farriers versus the rest; that would clearly not be a healthy state of affairs. I hope I have reassured hon. Members about the changes we are making and the reasons for them. In doing so, we make no comment at all about the Worshipful Company of Farriers. It is an organisation with a proud history. I have met its representatives and have a huge amount of respect for them. The Bill will maintain the close link with the Worshipful Company of Farriers while, I hope, striking the right balance in other areas. I am happy to say that I support the Bill and hope it is passed quickly.

[Byron Davies]

I am grateful for the shadow Minister’s kind words, her support for the Bill and her assistance in allowing for its smooth transition. I am grateful to the Minister for addressing the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle, and I hope that that matter has been put to rest for him and his constituent, Mr Jeffrey Newnham. That is about all I have to say.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Schedule agreed to.

Bill to be reported, without amendment.