Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there have been under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, and how many convictions secured.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions and convictions for offences under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, in England and Wales, up to December 2019, available in the ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code’ data tool, which can be found here:
In the data tool linked above, use the ‘Offence code’ filter to select the following offence code:
Number of prosecutions will populate Row 31; number of convictions will populate Row 32.
Please note that this offence code includes offences under both Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 and Microchipping of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2015. In order to identify defendants dealt with in England, specifically, use the ‘Police Force Area’ filter to select all options excluding those in Wales (i.e. Gwent, North Wales, South Wales and Dyfed-Powys).
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 potential merits of creating a single database of microchipped cats and dogs to help tackle increases in pet thefts.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We are always keen to consider improvements to the system and a post-implementation review of the law that regulates compulsory microchipping of dogs – The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 - will be carried out this year. This will include a review of how the current database system is working in practice.
The Government takes the issue of pet theft very seriously and is concerned by suggestions that occurrences are on the rise. The department is in contact with the police about crime prevention advice and the enforcement of the law around pet theft.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 potential merits of requiring veterinarians to scan the mircochips of cats and dogs upon first presentation to them.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We are always keen to consider improvements to the system and a post-implementation review of the law that regulates compulsory microchipping of dogs – The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 - will be carried out this year. A public consultation on compulsory microchipping and scanning of cats and dogs closed on 17 February. Among the questions being posed, the Government asked whether veterinarians should be required to scan cats and dogs upon first presentation. The Government will respond to this consultation once responses have been considered.
It is best practice for vets to check ownership details of pets brought to their practices for the first time in order to satisfy themselves that the pet has not been listed as stolen.
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, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the prevalence pet microchip databases on dog owners.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Under The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 all microchip databases are required to meet strict requirements, including having their records linked to each other to enable anyone searching for a microchip entry to know to which database it is registered. Any database found not to be complying with the 2015 Regulation faces a fine of up to £2,500 and having their ability to operate as a microchip database removed. There are currently thirteen compliant databases.
The 2015 Regulations are currently subject to a Post Implementation Review. As part of the review we will look at what effect the prevalence of microchip databases is having on dog owners.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were microchipped in 2018.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government estimates, from figures provided by the relevant microchip databases, that around 8.1 million dogs in the UK were microchipped in 2018. This represents around 90% of all dogs in the UK.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 potential merits of bringing forward legislation for mandatory microchip scanning for all pet dogs at routine visits to the veterinarian.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government agrees with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) that it is good practice for veterinary practices to scan dogs that are presented to them, and particularly for the first time, but that it should not be compulsory for them to do so, as in some circumstances this might deter some owners from presenting their dogs at veterinary practices for much needed treatment.
On 23 April 2019, I understand representatives of the group Vets Get Scanning and the BVA met to discuss this issue. The BVA has undertaken to remind veterinary practices to scan dogs in line with best practice and help owners understand the importance of keeping their microchipping records up to date.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of dogs that are not microchipped.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As at March 2018, we estimate that fewer than 10% of dogs are not microchipped.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that dangerous dogs are chipped in (a) Vale of Clwyd constituency, (b) Wales and (c) England.
Answered by George Eustice
Since 6 April 2016 all dogs in Great Britain have to be microchipped and registered on a database. We estimate that over 94% of dogs in Great Britain are microchipped. In addition, all dogs on the Index of Exempted Prohibited Dogs (dangerous dogs) are required to be microchipped before being returned to their keepers.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
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 take steps to encourage vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan stray dogs for microchips.
Answered by George Eustice
It is already best practice for vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan strays and they have a duty of care to do so. To assist dog wardens, the Kennel Club has provided free scanners to all local authorities. We will also be reminding these parties of the need to scan dogs.
Asked by: Tania Mathias (Conservative - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of the impending legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department has been working with key stakeholders to increase awareness of the need for owners to get their dogs microchipped. This work has included the offer by Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Blue Cross of free microchipping, and the launch of the ChipMyDog Facebook page and has helped contribute to the rise in the percentage of dogs microchipped from around 58% in 2013 to an estimated 83% today. We will continue to work with stakeholders to get this message out to dog owners and prospective owners.