PARAMETERS
FOR INCLUSION ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCILS APPROVED LIST OF PEST CONTROL
CONTRACTORS
REVISED JULY 2002
QUALIFICATIONS
Any operative shall be
suitably trained in the work which he/she is to perform. A minimum qualification shall be a course
approved by the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) or alternatively shall
have a minimum of 5 years full time continuous service in pest control in a
local authority or public sector agency.
All operatives must be careful, skilled and honest.
Each operative must have access to up to date relevant information
relating to pest control.
LEVEL OF
SERVICE
In the context of these parameters the contractor must be able to
deal with the following pest of public health significance in domestic premises
a) Rats
b) Mice
c) Fleas
d) Flies
e) Cockroaches
f) Bed bugs
g) Wasps nests
h) Brown tail moth
Rats and mice
treatments will include a minimum of three visits for treatment and/or
assessment.
Treatment must achieve
total eradication.
The contractor must
provide a 24 hour emergency call-out service which will include weekends, bank
holidays and public holidays.
Each request for
treatment shall receive attention within two working days. Urgent calls, (for example, a rat loose in a room,) shall be attended to
within four hours of receipt of the request.
MATERIALS
AND EQUIPMENT
The storage,
preparation, transport and use of materials and equipment shall be in
accordance with current legislative requirements and manufacturers
instructions.
VEHICLES
All vehicles shall comply with current health and safety and road traffic
requirements.
CHARGES
The maximum charges
that may be imposed for treatment in domestic premises shall be as follows:
a) Rats and Mice £36.00 (inclusive of VAT) for minimum of three visits.
b) Insects (other than
wasps) £36.00 (inclusive of VAT) per treatment
c) Wasps nests £27.00 (inclusive of VAT) per treatment
d) Customers on means test
benefit £5
The maximum call out fee that may be charged in addition to the above rates
outside of normal working hours shall be £21.00.
The Contractor must inform the Council of his current normal domestic
charges. Any change in the charges must
be notified to the Council at least 1 day prior to the imposition of the new
charge.
Customers in receipt of a means tested benefit must pay £5 towards the
cost of any treatment. The Isle of Wight Council will pay the balance of the
contractor’s normal charge.
The above mentioned
fees in respect of domestic premises relate only to premises of up to four
bedrooms. The charge for treatment
carried out in any larger premises may be negotiated between the contractor and
the customer but the Council will expect any charge to be reasonable.
The contractor must
inform the Council on a monthly basis of all treatments completed for occupiers
on means tested benefit along with proof of payment and of entitlement to means
tested benefits.
Means tested benefits
are as follows:
a) Job Seekers Allowance
(income based)
b) Income Support
c) Family Credit
d) Housing Benefit
e) Council Tax Benefit
f) Disabled Working
Allowance
g) Working Family Tax Credit
Contractors are
required to respect the confidentiality of any information they receive from
customers on means tested benefits i.e. the fact that they are on those
benefits and the details of those benefits.
Any information gathered by the contractor must not be revealed to a
third party other than the Environmental Health Department.
Charges will be
reviewed at least annually in consultation with all approved contractors.
NB. Normal working hours mean
8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
RECORDS
The contractor must
keep records for at least two years of all visits, treatments and other works
related to the above mentioned pests in respect of domestic pest control
treatments. Those records must be
available for inspection at all reasonable times by an authorised officer of
the Council.
GENERAL
The contractor is
expected to report any trouble spots that may require extensive treatment or
enforcement. Examples of such trouble
spots are;
a) Drainage defects
b) Premises requiring rodent
proofing
c) Filthy and verminous
premises
d) Articles which may
require destruction in the case of an infestation
e) Location and description of
accumulations that may give rise to statutory nuisance or attract vermin
f) Infestations in domestic
properties adjoining food or other relevant premises
g) Infestations in adjoining
properties which may require treating as a block
The
contractor and his staff shall be suitably and smartly dressed, shall act in a
courteous manner at all times and shall carry means of identification at all
times.
The contractor must
not sub-contract any domestic pest control work except to another contractor on
the Council’s approved list.
The contractor must carry public liability insurance in the minimum sum
of £5 million.
The parameters in this
document will be reviewed at least annually but may be altered at any time by
the Council in consultation with the approved contractors.
Failure to comply with
any of these parameters will result in the removal of the contractor from the
Council’s approved list.
Revised 02 July 2002