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Farriers’ Qualification (European Recognition) Regulations 2008

My Lords, I shall write if the explanation needs to be better. The fact is that, although there was a short consultation, 18 months of discussions went on before last November. This is not something that has just appeared out of nowhere. We discussed this matter, and some of the concerns raised were not able to be taken into account in how the directive operates. I think that some of the farriers here said that there should be a practical competence test before you are employed, but it is not possible to do that. Following the discussions in Brussels, we were satisfied about the animal welfare issue, which is the key issue here. There are hurdles—they are not barriers, but hurdles; we have free movement of professions, with some rules and regulations. The temporary issue is important; it involves a temporary period, with a maximum of a year. This was not an issue on which we discussed an encyclopaedia of rules and regulations, but it was discussed for some 18 months beforehand, and we were satisfied that the animal welfare considerations were fully met in the regulations as the final regulation appeared—and then we transposed it for the farriers.