NPTA membership breaks 850 mark, hears AGM

He attributes this to the success of the NPTA Accreditation scheme which has become more widely accepted by both wholesale and retail businesses, especially those in the food sector. The number of accredited members continues to increase rapidly, although from a low base, with a rate of around 40% for 2009/10 bringing the total number of accredited members to 42. The scheme is now reaching a critical mass where members are able to taking on bigger national contracts using accredited members to cover those parts of the country that they don’t reach themselves.

The meeting also received the 2009/10 National Rodent Survey report which led to a discussion about the negative impact of the current changes sweeping through local authority pest control units and the likelihood that it would mean still fewer local authorities participating in the next survey. The number taking part in the 2009/10 survey was already down from over 70% to around 50%.

NPTA chairman Peter Crowden and chief executive John Davison take questions from the floor during the association”s annual general meeting held at the NPTA offices on 16 March

Peter concluded the formal part for the meeting by thanking permanent staff Julie Gillies and Margaret Coleyshaw for their unstinting efforts and those members who give so much their time, free of charge, to enable the association to achieve so much. He also made a plea for more members to come forward to support their association’s activities.

An open forum discussion followed.

Questions from the floor included one about CEN, the European Standard for pest control which is currently being developed at an EU level. Chief executive John Davison outlined how NPTA was contributing to the debate. However he warned that the vast differences in training requirements across the EU were worrying as was the likelihood that a political compromise would determine the final content of the CEN standard. NPTA was also concerned that the standard will be awarded to companies rather than individuals. He reported that this concern was shared by the whole of the UK Pest Management Alliance which includes BPCA, CIEH, UKPCO as well as NPTA.

The 2008 regulations which give consumers the right to a cancel contract worth over £35 during a cooling off period service was also raised. The lack of suitable paperwork had prevented a member being awarded Trusted Trader Status. It turns out that sample paperwork is available from trading standards departments.

The was plenty of debate about the DIY market during which Peter Crowden reported that the Pest Management Alliance has recently reached an agreement with the RSPCA on glueboards. This will see the RSPCA writing to companies that sell glueboards to the public. With the RSPCA’s support businesses are much more likely to take notice and they have the clout to initiate prosecutions. Pest controllers will be asked to provide details of retailers selling glueboards inappropriately.Pestwill report on how you can do this once procedures have been set in place.