Pesticide usage in Scotland: Rodenticide use by Local Authorities 2023

Appendix 3 – Financial burden of LA rodenticide survey

In order to minimise the administrative burden on LAs this survey was conducted by e-mail with a follow up telephone call if necessary.

To determine the total burden that the survey placed on those providing the information, respondents were asked to estimate the time taken to provide the data requested.

Of the 27 responding LAs, 22 provided information about how long was spent on the data request.

The time local authorities took to provide the information varied widely due to the different ways each LA and/or contractors involved store their information, ranging from 10 minutes to 2 days The median time taken was 105 minutes.

The following formula was used to estimate the total cost of participating:

Burden (£) = No. surveyed x median time taken (hours) x typical hourly rate*

(* using median "full time" gross hourly pay for Scotland of £18.16⁽¹¹⁾)

The estimated total financial burden, accounting for all local authorities' participation in the 2023 rodenticide survey, was £735.48.