Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate regulation of charities who supply assistance dogs.

Standards for assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework.

Several UK charities and organisations are accredited to recognised international standards for assistance dogs. Assistance dogs are also provided by other charities and private sector organisations, including owner trainers, which are not accredited by international bodies. Assistance dogs might be regarded as such, if they serve to mitigate disabilities, whether physical, mental or behavioural conditions, and they have sufficient training to warrant public access.

There are well established dog training organisations which have international accreditation and are members of the umbrella coalition Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK). There are also other training organisations and associations of owner trainers that do not have international accreditation.

Following a Government initiative in 2017/18, a new charity was established - the Assistance Dogs Assessment Association (ADAA) - which offers a test and certificate for assistance dogs trained through sources without international accreditation. It is therefore now possible for assistance dogs to be tested and certified as having reached a set standard, even where they are trained by a body without international accreditation.

Assistance dog charities are regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and must comply with charity law, as well as broader legal requirements relating to animal welfare. The Charity Commission's role as independent registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales is to ensure that charity trustees comply with their duties as set out in charity law. If the trustees are acting within the law, fulfilling their duties and furthering their charitable purpose, the Charity Commission cannot become involved in the internal decision making of a charity.