HC Deb 05 February 1980 vol 978 cc237-8
Mr. Stoddart

On a point of order. I hope that I may have your guidance, Mr. Speaker. On 17 January I tabled a question to the Home Secretary asking how many prosecutions were taken out during 1979 against persons for failing to have a dog licence. I was rather surprised to receive a reply from the Home Department saying that this was a matter for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Nevertheless, since I trusted the Home Department implicitly I decided to wait until I received a reply from the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. That reply came on Thursday 31 January. So far as England and Wales is concerned, I am advised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department that the information requested for 1979 is not yet available… That surprised me since the Home Department had said that it was not responsible for prosecutions.

I therefore decided that I would table a question to the Prime Minister, so that she might get an iron grip on the two Departments and knock their heads together to get some sense out of at least one of them. I had her reply yesterday, which said: Local authorities are responsible for collecting the dog licence fee and are required to keep a register of licence holders. The police are concerned with proceedings with licence evasion. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales have powers to alter the level of the licence fee. That simply is not good enough. I was refused the opportunity by the Home Department to ask specific questions that affected the interests of my constituents by a transfer of question, which, as far as I can see, should not have happened. I should be most obliged, Mr. Speaker, to have your guidance on this matter.

Mr. Speaker

Order. Allow me to take this opportunity to advise the House first of all that there is a very long list of right hon. and hon. Members who hope to speak in the debate later today. We have now had a time-wasting exercise, which was not a genuine point of order. Hon. Members should raise with me only those matters that are affected by the Standing Orders of the House. I cannot rule on the issue of an hon. Member's questions being transferred. The House knows that quite clearly. I make it clear to the House also that if hon. Members are not satisfied with answers that they have received they should not raise the matter under the guise of a point of order. They should pursue it with the Minister concerned. I cannot rule on that matter.