Request 101003971128

1. A description of the preventative measures currently in place to reduce the risk of pest infestations at council-owned or council-managed sites. This should cover the full range of sites under the Council's control, including (but not limited to) housing stock, council offices, depots, public spaces, parks, and any other land or buildings managed by or on behalf of the Council. Please address each category of site, even if only briefly, rather than limiting the response to housing or tenant-facing services.

2. Details of any policies, procedures, guidance, or standard operating procedures used to ensure that pest prevention and control activities comply with:

a) Relevant legislation (including environmental health and animal welfare requirements)

b) Any internal council standards or best-practice guidance.

3. Information on how the Council monitors and ensures compliance with these preventative measures and guidelines, including:

a) Any inspection, audit, or review processes, including the frequency of such processes, who is responsible for conducting them, and whether any independent or external scrutiny is applied

b) The role of officers, teams, or contractors in overseeing compliance

c) What action is taken, or what escalation process exists, where non-compliance or a failure of preventative measures is identified

4. Where pest control services are delivered by external contractors, please confirm:

a) What policies or codes of practice relating to prevention and control that external contractors are expected to comply with

b) How the Council assures itself that those requirements are being met

Response 06-08-2026

Question 1

Council Housing Stock and Estates

The Council operates a preventative pest control programme across it’s council housing stock and estates. The Housing Service provides a Caretaking Service to help manage its Council Housing Estates with regular inspections and audits of common areas, including stairways, external paths, gardens and amenity areas. Proactive action is taken by the service where waste is not being disposed of appropriately. 

Where pest activity is identified, appropriate control measures are implemented. The Council aims to ensure all properties in its ownership are free of vermin, pest and insect infestation. The tenant has a responsibility to report all infestations of a property to the Housing Service. The Council do not provide a pest control service and it’s up to our tenant to arrange the services of a pest control contractor if required. However, if a Council tenant is experiencing a major or recurring infestation the problem would be investigated and an approved contractor would be sourced when needed.

a)    Gull Prevention (Sonic Deterrents) – 16 Nr. Sonic Scarer devices at various locations for a 12-week period for 30^th March 2026, supported by laser deterrent to both these areas and Housing areas

b)    Gull prevention (Laser deterrent) - works that includes three visits per week for a 6-week period, at the beginning of each nesting window, to Council Housing areas identified below, using high powered lasers in the early hours of the morning and at various times to frighten and deter gulls from nesting.     

Open Spaces

No preventative measures.

Roads Maintenance

We report Rats/Pigeons/Gulls to Property to arrange pest control. They make the arrangements. We have to provide cost codes to cover the bill.

Transportation

We do not currently have any preventative pest control measures. However, we are due to install an audible bird scarer at Batchen Lane Car Park in the coming weeks.

Harbours

At the harbour, housekeeping is the most vital way we can prevent problems with pests and as such we don't have many issues.  If we did have an issue we contact the councils in house pest control specialist for advice on how to deal with it and then he comes down and sorts it.  We would always defer to the pest specialist and look to them for clarification, should it be required, on procedures and SOP's.  Should the councils pest specialist not be able to help then I would be asking him for the list of approved local vendors who could help.

With our proximity to the sea, rock armour and derelict buildings there is of course potential for issues but we just don't seem to have them very often.  We are also classed as a food premises (mostly the fish market) and as such we have to go through the Food Hygiene Information Scheme with EH and have just passed our latest inspection on the 20th of March.  The company who run the cargo sheds have a contract with a pest specialist, have a number of traps down and carry out regular inspections to comply with their TASK requirements for them to store and move food stuffs i.e. grain.

We are also part of the Scottish Invasive Species initiative so we have 2 mink traps at the harbour which are operational from approximately February to November but we have not yet caught one.

Catering:

Catering monitor within there house rules to check for pests but if we require pest control it is organised through property services.

Question 2

Estates

Please find link to Council’s Estate Management Policy

And there is a Gull Management Plan 2026/27 (to be sent to requester directly once dedicated email address received).

a)    See published guidance below on seagulls

http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_82583.html

b)    Seagulls – published advice to residents at link below

http://www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file119610.pdf

Open Spaces

Reactive works requested via property so answers to all other questions would be for them.

Transportation

No policies relating to the car parks that we are aware of

Question 3

Estates

a)    Estate Caretakers and Area Housing Officer are inspecting Council Housing Stock and Estates daily as part of their responsibilities.

Seagulls – regular meetings with contractor and annual report on measures carried out , including nest and egg removal.

b)    The Area Housing Teams oversee compliance.

Service Manger Building Servies – oversees compliance with gull strategy for Council housing

c)    Where an issue is attributable to a tenant, they will be given an opportunity to rectify the matter. Failure to do so, could result in the Council undertaking work and recharging the tenant. In extreme cases, there is also the option to raise legal proceedings if a breach of tenancy has occurred.

Service Manger Building Servies – manages appointed gull contractor in line with contract conditions

Question 4

Estates

The Housing Service has adopted use of the Scotland Excel Pest Control Services and Associated Products to deal with major or recurring infestation problems. This contract is managed by Scotland Excel and is fully compliant with all legislative requirements.  

a)    See tender Scope of Works Specification for Gull Prevention Measures enclosed (to be sent to requester directly once dedicated email address received).

b)    Regular meetings with Contractor for Gull Prevention