Acting chief public health inspector for St Ann, Leroy Scott is urging the parish council to take the requisite steps to ensure that there is efficient and speedy licensing of butchers in the parish. Scott, who was speaking at the monthly sitting of the St Ann Parish Council on Thursday, July 10, said the butchers, over the years, have had some difficulties getting their approved licences from the parish council and part of the challenge is that the police have to investigate into the character of each of the butchers. He said that the police investigations and the recommendation often take a lot of time to be returned to the Council, even where the Public Health department has recommended the licences for the butchers. “So what we find is that there have been some inordinate delays in the granting of licences of butchers,” Scott said. Scott told the North Coast Times that it was not the first time that the issue has been brought to the Council’s attention and that in 2012 a large number of butchers had been affected. Scott said: “In 2012, a significant number of butchers did not receive their licences for several months after the granting of the licenses at the butchers session.” He said that the Council can expedite the process by accepting licence applications prior to April 1, which is the start of the new financial year. “the Council does not accept applications for licences before April 1 of each year…all licenses expire on March 31 so once applications are received after April 1 the processes that are involved in granting of the licenses can take several week ending at the Council meeting in May where ratification takes place. So for every year, all butchers are without a butchers license for a month,” Scott said. He also said that if a butcher does not receive his licence at the session held by the Health Department, they remain without a licence for times longer than a month. “What we have asked is that the parish council seeks to change the procedure and accept the application prior to April 1 to expedite the process.” The acting chief said: “We have had those complaints year after year and have brought those to the Council but it is the first in this forum (general meeting) but we have told those issues to the Council officer responsible for the process. He said that the most prominent excuse he gets is that the police take a long time to process the applications.
