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How it works聽

The bat 鈥榚arned recognition鈥� class licence allows bat ecologists to carry out bat roost mitigation work.听听

If you apply for this licence, Natural England will assess your competence to undertake licensed work, including:

• undertaking survey work聽
• determining impacts of the proposed work聽
• designing and implementing effective mitigation聽
• designing and implementing effective compensation聽

If you pass the assessment, you鈥檒l be accredited to the appropriate level for your experience and get an accreditation certificate. This certificate allows you to register sites and carry out work under the earned recognition class licence.

You should continue to apply for bat mitigation licences as you normally would while you go through the accreditation process.

You do not have to pay for accreditation.听

Application criteria聽

To be eligible to apply, you will need to show you:聽

• hold a level 2 (or higher) Natural England bat class survey licence
• are a member of an approved professional body - either The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) or The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF)听

For CIEEM membership, your level will need to be either associate, full, or fellowship (also known as fellow).听

You do not need to have previously been a named ecologist on bat mitigation licences, but during assessment you will need to provide examples of your work, including licensed bat mitigation projects.听听

Levels of accreditation聽

There are 3 levels of accreditation you can apply for.听

Your accreditation level will determine which bat species and roost types you can work on.听

You must be able to provide evidence to prove your competence at the level you apply for.

If you cannot provide evidence, your application may be downgraded to a lower level or rejected.

More details about the accreditation levels and competency requirements will be published later in 2024.听

How to apply聽

You can only apply for a bat 鈥榚arned recognition鈥� licence during an application round.听

The next round is due to open later in 2024.

To apply you must complete the application form, which will be available when the application round opens.

If your application is accepted, you鈥檒l be invited to take part in an assessment process.

More information about the application and assessment process will be published later in 2024.听

Providing evidence聽

To prepare for your application and assessment you should keep records which evidence your own work, including:聽聽

• 辫丑辞迟辞驳谤补辫丑蝉听
• method statements聽
• survey records聽
• 濒颈肠别苍肠别蝉听
• 谤别辫辞谤迟蝉听
• site visit records聽
• email correspondence聽
• meeting minutes聽聽
• toolbox talks聽

This will help you provide the evidence you need to support your application.听

Registering sites聽

Once accredited, you can register sites under the bat earned recognition class licence. You鈥檒l need to submit less information to Natural England than is required for a standard high risk bat mitigation licence (A13).听听

Natural England will carry out an assessment on your site registration and issue a licensing decision within 15 working days.

Natural England will carry out compliance checks of your work under the terms of the licence.听

Check if you need to pay for site registration聽

From March 2024 you鈥檒l need to pay for a site registration for certain situations. Filling in the charge screening questions on the site registration form will tell you:聽聽

• if you need to pay聽
• how much you鈥檒l pay聽

Read the terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence.听

When you do not need to pay聽

You do not need to pay if the main purpose of the project is:聽

• to preserve public health and safety
• to conserve a bat roost in situ
• for the conservation of a listed building聽聽聽
• for a householder home improvement project

A project will be considered as conserving a bat roost in situ if all the following apply:聽

• the proposed work will not affect the roost聽
• the roost is a maternity, swarming or hibernation roost, or the roost is a day roost containing 3 or more bats at one time聽
• the roosting spaces and pre-emergent flight areas will stay accessible to bats and keep the same length, height and width聽
• access points will not be changed聽
• for roof roosts, the roof timbers will not be changed聽
• no more than 5% of the building materials in the roost space will be replaced聽
• the temperature and humidity of the roost will not be changed聽
• light levels inside and outside the roost and flight paths to and from the roost will not be affected聽

How to pay聽

If you must pay for your site registration, you鈥檒l need to pay 拢410 when you apply. You can pay by bank card using a link to gov.uk/pay in the site registration form.听听

VAT does not apply to charges for wildlife licences.听

Once you have paid, take note of the payment reference provided by gov.uk/pay as you will need to provide this on the site registration form.听

If a site registration is not authorised, you will not be charged.听

If a site registration is authorised, there is no further action to take.听

Withdrawing a site registration聽

If you withdraw a chargeable site registration before you receive a decision, Natural England will refund the 拢410 payment.

Natural England will not refund payment once a site registration has been authorised.听

搁别蝉耻产尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍蝉听

If a Further Information Request (FIR) is issued requiring a resubmission, Natural England will refund your initial 拢410 payment.

If a site registration is authorised following one or more resubmissions, you will be invoiced for 拢410 for the initial assessment, plus the cost of assessment of the resubmission at a variable rate of 拢121 per hour.

You will be asked for invoice details when you resubmit a site registration.

Natural England accepts purchase orders for charges including variable rates. If you want Natural England to add a purchase number to your invoice, you must include it in the invoice details in your charge form.听

If my site registration changes聽

If you paid for your site registration, you鈥檒l need to pay for the time Natural England spends assessing your modification at 拢121 per hour (to the nearest quarter of an hour).听

When you submit your modification request, you鈥檒l be asked to provide invoice details. Natural England will invoice you for this work once the fee is calculated.

Natural England cannot take a fixed payment by card for a modification.听

Compliance and enforcement聽

Natural England will carry out compliance checks on registered sites across all accreditation levels through targeted and random monitoring.

If you fall below the standards of your accreditation level or breach the class licence you will be investigated and given appropriate sanctions.听

Contact Natural England

For queries about bat earned recognition, email: [email protected].