§ Lord Irving of Dartfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many dog licences were issued in the first full quarter of the operation of licences under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 and how this compares with the numbers issued in the equivalent quarter the previous year.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)I regret that the information requested in relation to the first quarter of licensing under the order is not yet available in that not all district councils have submitted to the Department of Agriculture returns of licences issued. I will write to the noble Lord when the full details are to hand.
However, a valid comparison cannot be drawn between licences issued in the quarters ended 31st March 1983 and 31st March 1984. Under the previous licensing system which operated on a fixed year from 1st April to 31st March new licences for the following year could be taken out at any time after 1st January. The new licensing system does not encourage licensing in advance and as all licences issued before 19th December 1983 (the date licensing under the new order came into force) remained valid until 31st March 1984 there was no reason for existing licence holders to take out licences under the new order during the quarter ended 31st March 1984. Comparisons between the old and the new arrangements will be possible only on an annual basis.