§ Mr. WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is prepared to confirm local authority byelaws which will make it an offence for a person in charge of a dog in an urban area to fail to remove any faeces it might deposit on pavement or grass verges.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggFollowing an approach from Westminster city council I have agreed to the establishment of a pilot project to test the effectiveness of this approach to the dog-fouling problem. Subject to considering any objections I propose shortly to confirm a byelaw which will apply to footways, footpaths and grass verges throughout the city. The experimental byelaw will run for two years and its operation will be carefully monitored by the Home Office and the city council. If at the end of that period the byelaw has proved an effective remedy to the problem I shall consider whether to offer it as a model for adoption by other local authorities.