Animal Welfare Bill

moved Amendment No. 14: Page 8, line 29, at end insert- ““( ) Regulations promoting the welfare of animals under subsection (1) may only be made if the appropriate national authority is satisfied, on the basis of scientific evidence in the public domain, that those regulations are necessary to promote welfare.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I now turn to a group of amendments that includes a number of government amendments, but is headed by our Amendment No. 14 which requires that regulations promoting the welfare of animals under subsection (1) may be made only if the appropriate national authority is satisfied on the basis of scientific evidence in the public domain that those regulations are necessary to promote welfare. During the passage of the Bill, we have had long discussions about what may be in the codes. On some issues, we feel very strongly that the codes should be based on scientific evidence. This cluster of amendments addresses the current strategy for making regulations and codes of practice. Amendment No. 14 ensures that regulations promoting animal welfare are based on scientific evidence. The amendment includes a provision, similar to that in Clause 1(4), that regulations and changes to regulations should be made only when the appropriate national authority, "““is satisfied, on the basis of scientific evidence””" that they can be justified. I strongly believe that all consultations under the Bill and the evidence on which the appropriate national authority relies should be open and transparent. It is not enough for a national authority simply to state that it is satisfied that the evidence supports its actions without making that evidence available. Although Ministers give assurances that they or this Government will not abuse the powers given under this legislation, it has to stand the test of time. If it is 95 years before we have new legislation, we must be sure that this version is robust. So far, the Government have resisted amendments to rectify these defects without providing a suitable explanation for why they oppose them. The parameters for regulations in the Bill are important because it is an enabling Bill. We describe it as a skeleton Bill because most of the work is done in regulations and codes. That brings me to Amendments Nos. 19, 20, 21, 49 and 50. They ensure that codes of practice are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure in both Houses. I know that the Minister is always careful to make sure that codes are relevant, but, with his many years of experience in the other place, he knows that we can talk on them, but cannot alter them. That is why we are encouraging the Government to accept using the affirmative resolution procedure. I thank the Clerks who advised me on this matter and said that while famous codes of practice, such as admissions codes for education, are subject to the negative resolution procedure, there is nothing to prevent the affirmative resolution procedure applying to new codes of practice. When he responds, I hope the Minister will clarify that for me. This is an extremely important point, and I was disappointed to see from the timetable the priority that the codes have. Since then, I have been grateful to the Minister for acknowledging that they should have been higher up the list, particularly the code on greyhounds. Some 22 sets of regulations are set to arrive in the next four years, and I hope this debate will stimulate some of the decisions about when they will be enacted. I return to Amendment No. 14, on which I have support from the Countryside Alliance and the National Farmers’ Union. In the latter's submission to me, it states that regulations should be made only if Ministers are satisfied that there is scientific evidence. The submission states: "““Indeed, in his letter of May 15 to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, Lord Rooker refers to these order-making powers as a fundamental element in the legislation to enable the law to be developed ‘to reflect changing animal welfare practices and emerging scientific evidence’ Without such a safeguard what is to prevent the introduction of regulations which are very demanding or restrictive on the owners of animals promoted by an emotional campaign ... for which there is scant scientific or veterinary justification?””" That is an important point for us to consider. I look forward to hearing the Minister's comments on his amendments and I beg to move.