Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The Government believes that the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 plays a very important part in our overall approach towards tackling dangerous dogs. This is why we are taking urgent action to bring forward a ban on XL Bully dog types under the Act following a concerning rise in attacks and fatalities, which appear to be driven by this type of dog. In the meantime, we have been working hard with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to help prevent attacks by encouraging responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied across all breeds of dog.