Clause 11 - Prescribed animal welfare bodies
Hunting Bill
10:00 am
Mr Alun Michael (Minister of State (Rural Affairs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Cardiff South and Penarth, Labour/Co-operative)
The right hon. Gentleman has started to appreciate what we are trying to achieve. If an organisation had a constitutional arrangement or set requirements on the people who would undertake its direct work that would make it impossible for them to fulfil the role, it is difficult to see how the Secretary of State could make a designation. It is not appropriate to go further than that. The Secretary of State would have to look at an organisation being considered for designation and be satisfied that it could professionally fulfil the requirements in the same way as suitable people are sought for responsibilities such as guardian ad litem.
People often express strong views about how children should be treated. The question is whether we can do the job professionally in the way required. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman would be fair enough to acknowledge that there are many circumstances to be considered. It is important that the Secretary of State, when designating a body to undertake that role, should be clear about the role and be satisfied that the organisation would not be distorting the service that it was providing. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the appointments must be made properly. However, it would be
inappropriate for me to make blanket comments about what the Secretary of State should do when considering applications. Had the right hon. Gentleman been answering from this Bench he would say exactly the same.