Clause 1 - Animals to which the Act applies
Animal Welfare Bill
11:00 am
Bill Wiggin (Shadow Minister (Agriculture & Fisheries), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)
This is a more thorny subject. In moving the amendment, I seek to ensure that the law is applied consistently across England and Wales. Do we really want a situation to arise whereby the Secretary of State in England and the National Assembly for Wales create different regulations to fulfil the duties set out under subsection (3)(a), (b) and (c)? If the Bill is passed in its current form, we might see the Secretary of State and the National Assembly applying different definitions of what constitutes an animal. The Secretary of State and the Welsh Assembly could also duplicate each other's work when seeking to extend the definition of an animal under clause 1. Moreover, as presently drafted, subsection (3)(c) gives the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales powers to amend subsection (2) differently. It is absurd that someone could be criminalised in Wales for an activity deemed criminal there but not in England. If an animal is deemed eligible on a scientific basis to be added to the definition of ''animal'' under subsection (3)(a), I fail to see the logic of the matter having to be determined separately in England and Wales.
We must also consider the impact of the legislation if it is not amended to ensure consistency. What will happen to properties that straddle the English and Welsh border, many of which are in my constituency? Which regulations, codes and licensing regimes will they have to follow? The amendment would ensure that such uncertainties did not exist, and would guarantee legal consistency.
Amendment No. 72, which is in the same vein, would prevent the possibility of different sets of laws being in place on each side of the border. As the provisions are designed to enable the creation of regulations to promote animal welfare, we must ask ourselves whether it would be wise to permit the creation of different sets of regulations. That would not only create problems of cost, but present the legal system with a formidable challenge. After regulations have been made, if they are broken it is possible that the offender will be prosecuted in the criminal courts. England and Wales share the same criminal law and criminal courts, and in the event of different regulations applying in each, our legal system will be sorely tested. For example, could a person who had violated a regulation specific to Wales be tried in a court in England, or for that matter in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
Moreover, the Bill makes no mention of how regulations would affect the hundreds of cross-border farms, and which set of regulations the farmers would have to follow. Who would decide? Would the farmers get a choice, or would an arbitrary line be drawn across their land, with English regulations on one side and Welsh on the other? Unless the Bill is amended, we will run the risk of having different standards of animal welfare in England and Wales. Responsible legislators would not permit that to happen.
The Bill does provide for good devolution. It gives a great deal of power to local authorities, pushing that power from the centre to the lowest possible level to allow local people to ensure local animal welfare standards. However, the aspect of devolution in question sets a dangerous problem for us as legislators. Although devolution can deliver genuine benefits, so that local people have a say over what happens to them and their animals, the provision is a bad example of the Government legislating on a principle without thinking about its consequences.