§ Mr. Wheelerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on the progress of the pilot project to test the effectiveness of model byelaws designed to reduce the problem of dogs fouling in public places; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorOn 2 September byelaws came into force in four local authority areas which make it an offence for a person in charge of a dog in parks, footpaths and other designated areas to fail to remove any faeces deposited by the dog. The local authorities are the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, Gosport borough council, North-West Leicestershire district council and Rochester upon Medway city council. Indications so far are that the level of compliance by dog owners in these areas has been high and in consequence parks and so on are noticeably very much cleaner. Towards the end of this year we shall assess the effectiveness of the scheme overall and whether the byelaws should be offered as models for adoption by other local authorities.