§ Lord Mancroftasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they intend to bring into effect the new provisions on dog control contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Baroness Blatch):The dog control provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provide for new duties to be placed on district and London borough authorities to collect and detain stray dogs, and to enforce the existing requirement that dogs should wear a collar and identification tag in a public place. We propose to bring these new measures into effect on 1st April 1992. The Department of the Environment will consult local authorities on a draft circular in the summer, and will publish draft regulations in the autumn. Officials at the Department of the Environment are holding discussions with the local authority associations and other interested bodies about the additional resource implications of implementing the new duties and powers. We have been most impressed by the initiatives and enthusiasm shown by the many authorities which already employ dog wardens. We would encourage others to follow their example by similarly exercising their existing powers to the full.