Clause 45 - Inspectors
Animal Welfare Bill
10:00 am
David Drew (Stroud, Labour)
I agree with the hon. Gentleman: this is an important part of the Bill. When we were discussing orders to be made, I asked for the position to be restated; it is appropriate for the Minister to answer more fully on this point. It is crucial that we know what the role and functions of inspectors are. Experience and qualifications will play a key role. If the Bill means anything when it is enacted it will be tested by the people who have to deal with the various issues that we put before the Committee. It is not totally clear to me what we mean by “the inspector”—who that person is.
In another Committee of which I was a member we made changes regarding who takes in stray dogs; responsibility passed from the police to local authorities. Having subsequently been out with the RSPCA, I could quote a couple of examples from my constituency in which there has been rather a muddle since the change in the law, because the police rightly say, “It’s not our responsibility now. Ring the local authority”, and the local authority does not have a 24-hour service. The person then rings the RSPCA, which says, “Maybe we can take the dog and find a kennel temporarily, but it’s not our responsibility any more, because it is clearly down to the local authority.”
We need to be clear whose role it is and what experience that person has. I know that the Kennel Club wants someone with a national vocational qualification in animal care as an absolute minimum. After that, it is a relationship between that person and a vet, who could be called in when an animal was suffering or had been subject to abuse. Again, we need to think about who does what and what happens when things go wrong. I hope that the Minister will say a little more about that, because it will make or break the Bill.