Animal Welfare Bill

I suspect that my hon. Friend is leading me into a trap, but I shall not go there. I agree; such provision is not a planning issue. The Government spend too much time interfering in planning, but I commend the Town and Country Planning Association’s report on the issue. I know that my hon. Friend will go post haste to the Library to retrieve it after the debate. I welcome the proposals for longer sentences and higher fines, but as other Members have rightly said, records reveal that few magistrates courts give custodial sentences. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening): Members on both sides of the House would like magistrates to give custodial sentences. I encourage the Minister to consider mandatory custodial sentences for people convicted three times of offences of animal neglect or cruelty, rather than just another fine or a short sentence. Will the Minister reassure us that time served will increase as a result of the Bill? That is a substantive point. I welcome disqualification orders. I remember a case in Newcastle when a Shetland pony had been locked into its stable and burnt alive. I was visiting the area on business and read about the incident in the newspaper and got involved in trying to find out who was behind it. I discussed the case with some people and it occurred to me that a person convicted of such an offence against their own or another animal—probably the latter—could be disqualified from keeping an animal but could then move away, for example, from Newcastle to London, and buy another animal. Nobody would be any the wiser. Will the Government consider introducing a national register of people convicted of cruelty to animals? Responsible dog breeders or people selling cats or other animals could access a national database to find out whether the buyer is a responsible owner. I hope that the Bill can eventually close that loophole. Members have rightly spoken of the promotion of animal welfare through education and of the need for intervention and prevention. I endorse those calls and support that element of the Bill. Will the Minister inform the House whether he has held discussions with the Department for Education and Skills about establishing a national animal welfare day? I do not think there is one. Perhaps the Minister could respond. Will the Government find time in the national curriculum for young children for some input on animal welfare?