Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many FTE civil servants his Department has allocated to work on developing a single point of search for the microchip database for (a) dogs and (b) cats.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
There are many civil servants across Defra that are responsible for multiple animal welfare policies, working flexibly according to business need. Civil Servants work across animal welfare, transforming farm animal health and welfare, wildlife and rural teams, with some responsibilities sitting across other teams.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that dogs being cared for by (a) charity and (b) rescue centres are (i) spayed, (ii) neutered and (iii) microchipped.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra engages regularly with a range of stakeholders across the animal welfare and charity sectors, including on issues relating to rescue and rehoming practices.
Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, it is a requirement for all dogs to be microchipped by the time they are eight weeks old.
Asked by: Becky Gittins (Labour - Clwyd East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the microchipping database system in reuniting dogs with their owners.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Pet microchipping policy is a devolved matter. In 2021, Defra carried out a post implementation review of the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015. This review concluded that microchipping had had a positive effect on reunification rates and was identified as a leading means of reunification.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in analysing the responses to the Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We will shortly issue the summary of responses and the Government’s response to the ‘Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England’ which was launched in Spring 2022.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on ensuring all dogs are microchipped.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, it is an offence to not microchip a dog. Around 90% of dogs in the UK are now microchipped. The Government works with stakeholders to remind the public of the legal requirement and the benefits of microchipping.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to set up a national database for microchip companies to input data received for dogs and cats.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are not proposing to create a single cat and dog microchip database. Database operators are commercial enterprises which offer a range of services and provide choice for pet owners.
A consultation seeking views on changes to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 closed on 20th May 2022 and we are analysing the responses. The consultation sought views on creating a single point of access facility for approved users to quickly search compliant databases for a microchip record. We intend for this to also apply to cat microchip records.
This is a devolved matter and these developments relate to the situation applying in England.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to set up a national database for dog and cat microchips.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are not proposing to create a single cat and dog microchip database. Database operators are commercial enterprises which offer a range of services and provide choice for pet owners.
A consultation seeking views on changes to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 closed on 20th May 2022 and we are analysing the responses. The consultation sought views on creating a single point of access facility for approved users to quickly search compliant databases for a microchip record. We intend for this to also apply to cat microchip records.
This is a devolved matter and these developments relate to the situation applying in England.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the number and proportion of dogs that are not microchipped; and what steps she is taking to help reduce that number.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Around 10% of dogs in the UK are not microchipped (PDSA, PAW Report 2022). Under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 it is an offence to not microchip a dog. The Government works with stakeholders to remind the public of this legal requirement and the benefits of microchipping.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the current review into the regulations on dog microchipping and the related microchipping database systems will be completed.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We have completed the post implementation review of the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 and published the report on 21 December 2021. At the same time, we published a research report from Nottingham University on the effectiveness of dog microchipping legislation that supported the review.
The review found that microchipping has had a positive effect on reunification rates and legislation is seen as an important and necessary means to achieve improvements in dog welfare by increasing traceability of dogs and their keepers. The regulatory review and the Pet Theft Taskforce both highlighted areas where improvements to the microchipping regime would be beneficial, notably by improving the ease of navigation of the database system and processes around keepership records. We are considering changes to the 2015 Regulations and will be consulting on these in early 2022.
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, for future legislation of the micro-chipping of (1) dogs, and (2) cats.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
All dogs in England must already be microchipped under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, unless they are certified as exempt. We are currently carrying out a post-implementation review of the regulations, which will be published later this year. This review will also consider how the current database system is working in practice
We committed in our manifesto, and reaffirmed in our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, our intention to introduce compulsory cat microchipping. We carried out a public consultation on these proposals earlier this year. Defra officials are currently analysing the responses. We aim to publish a summary of responses and set out our proposals later this year.
This is a devolved matter and these developments relate to the situation applying in England.