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Farriers’ Qualification (European Recognition) Regulations 2008

My Lords, the test is that of supplying the necessary information, not a practical test. It requires documents: evidence from the member state and details from the competent authority. Where there is no competent authority, they have to provide the documents to show that they have legally been carrying out a business and, indeed, are doing so because they are only coming here to provide a temporary service. The Farriers Registration Council can limit that for a year, but if they fail to provide the necessary documentation, they would not be able to provide the temporary service. There is a check and balance here, and another which I will come to in a moment. The main overall objective of this directive is the reduction of obstacles to free movement. It merely makes possible the pursuit of a profession for which a person is qualified on an employed or self-employed basis, provided the activities are comparable. It introduces new arrangements for migrants who want to provide a service on a temporary and occasional basis with the minimum of bureaucracy and red tape. Here is the key part: it places absolutely no obligation whatever on employers or service users to engage a professional from another member state. To the best of my knowledge—as was mentioned earlier, and as I discussed a couple of days ago—it must be perfectly compatible with, let us say, insurance companies putting in terms and conditions that require one to use professionally qualified competent people to do the necessary work. If not, one’s insurance is at risk. Therefore, these are quite legitimate, but no one is forced to employ professionals from another member state. That is an important point. The directive was largely implemented last October by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills through the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007. Many of the provisions are carried over from a previous directive on the recognition of professional qualifications. A lot of this is not new. Europe-based farriers have been able to provide temporary services, under the DIUS regulations, by submitting a declaration to the Farriers Registration Council—the UK competent authority—since last October. As I have said, so far, the Farriers Registration Council has received only one declaration. There are only two European farriers currently registered to practise farriery on a permanent basis in the United Kingdom. I do not know which member states they are from. The directive leaves the registration of temporary service providers up to member states. Having consulted the Farriers Registration Council, we agreed that the best way of managing temporary service providers would be to provide the regulator—the Farriers Registration Council—with the necessary powers to deal with issues relating to conduct. The Farriers’ Qualification (European Recognition) Regulations 2008—the subject of this debate—therefore provide for consequential amendments following changes introduced last year by the DIUS, and provide a framework for registering temporary farriers. Revocation of the regulations would not affect the entitlement of European farriers to provide their service on a temporary basis, pursuant to the DIUS regulations, but it would hinder the UK’s ability to implement fully its European obligations. In addition, it would remove our ability to manage these arrangements in a transparent way, and to ensure that any problems can be dealt with by the Farriers Registration Council. That is an important point, because bringing regulations into force allows the Farriers Registration Council to be the regulator for the temporary activities. Farriery is not a regulated activity in some member states. The directive, and the DIUS regulations, set out other criteria that must be taken into account in those situations. Competent authorities—in the UK, the regulators—have an obligation to work in close collaboration with the competent authorities in other member states to facilitate the application of the directive. The directive defines ““professional qualifications”” as: "““(a) qualifications attested by evidence of formal qualifications,""(b) an attestation of competence issued by the competent authority in a person’s home State … and/or""(c) professional experience””." Therefore, ““professional qualifications”” includes professional experience, such as two years’ lawful and effective practice of a profession. You have to provide evidence that you have been doing it and carrying it out, even in a member state where there is no competent authority. When making a declaration to the Farriers Registration Council, a temporary service provider must include details of any insurance cover, an attestation that they are lawfully established in their home country, as well as evidence of professional qualifications and proof of at least two years’ lawful and effective practice if they come from a state where farriery is unregulated. There are therefore some hurdles even in countries where there is no regulation of farriery. I do not claim that they are as good, but it is not a free-for-all; it is not for any Tom, Dick and Harry to come over here and say, ““I’m a farrier. I’ll undercut your prices. I can do the job. I’m OK””. There is a series of hurdles to clear.