§ Sir R. Gowerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will consider the desirability of making the renewal fees for licences to keep dogs payable on 1st May instead of 1st January in each year, so that unnecessary suffering through inclement weather to unlicensed and homeless dogs may be avoided; and whether he will introduce amending legislation so that such licences shall be operative for one year from the date of issue instead of only to the following 31st December?
§ Sir J. SimonThe dog licence duty in England and Wales is not an Imperial but a local taxation duty. I doubt whether my hon. Friend's proposals would be practicable, but in any case I could not consider the initiation of legislation to give effect to either of them unless they were supported by the various local authorities concerned.