Legislative Reform (Dangerous Wild Animals) (Licensing) Order 2010

My Lords, the draft order reforms the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, which governs the private keeping of dangerous wild animals, by reducing the administrative and financial burdens imposed on local authorities, who are responsible for enforcing the Act. The keepers of dangerous wild animals will also gain from the changes made through the effective halving of application fees and associated vets’ bills over a two year period and a reduction in the frequency of form-filling and inspections. Further to an independent review of the Act’s effectiveness in 2001 and subsequent consultations, the following proposals, intended to be in line with the Government’s intention to deregulate whenever we can, were included in the draft order now before the Committee. The proposals extend the period of validity of a licence from a maximum of one calendar year to two, and provide that licences, other than licence renewals, will come into force immediately on their being granted rather than, as was previously the case, from either the date of grant or the beginning of the following year. A further proposal to remove the mandatory requirement for inspections to be carried out in respect of certain applications for a replacement or second licence and to allow instead discretionary, targeted inspections was challenged by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of this House when the original draft order was laid. The committee, which we hold in the greatest respect, was not satisfied that that proposal would preserve sufficiently well the Act’s existing protections to the public. We share the Committee’s concern that all necessary protections in the 1976 Act should be maintained; indeed, a legislative reform order is not permitted to remove any such protection. Following further consultation with local authorities on that challenged proposal, it was clear that there was less appetite than previously thought for the flexibility the proposal was intended to provide. Of course, we have accordingly dropped the proposal and the revised draft order is before the Committee. The surviving proposed changes contained in the draft order are ones with which the scrutinising committees of both Houses have pronounced themselves content as being changes that will lead to a reduction in the administrative and financial burden on both local authorities and the keepers of such animals while retaining the public safety and welfare provisions of the Act, together with all the necessary protections contained therein. I beg to move.