Official Report 579KB pdf
Dangerous Dogs (Compensation and Exemption Schemes) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No 2) Order 2026
09:34
Our next item of business is consideration of a Scottish statutory instrument. As members will recall from last week’s consideration of the SSI, the amendment requires holders of exemption certificates to ensure that exempted dogs are not in close contact with children under the age of 12 unless they are supervised by a person aged 16 or over. The requirement applies in non-public places, including private homes.
Last week, the committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government to request further information. On 25 September, we received a response from the Government, for which we are grateful. The response is published on the committee’s web page. No motion to annul the instrument has been lodged.
Do members have any comments on the instrument?
I have a quick comment. I accord with your comments, convener, and express my gratitude to the Minister for Victims and Community Safety for coming back to us as quickly as she did. However, one of the questions that we asked was why the age threshold is set as 16. In essence, the answer was, “Because it is.” Although no motion to annul the SSI has been lodged, the answer on the age issue was not as satisfactory as I would have liked it to be, because there is disparity between what is happening in Scotland and what is happening in England and the rest of the United Kingdom in relation to the capacity of those aged 16. I simply put that on the record.
Thank you, Mr Kerr. I am grateful to you for putting that on the record. I know that Scottish Government officials who follow our proceedings will be made aware of that. I propose that the committee makes no recommendations in relation to the instrument. Do members agree?
Members indicated agreement.
Thank you. The arrival of some of our witnesses for the next item has been slightly delayed. I will suspend proceedings briefly until they arrive.
09:36
Meeting suspended.
09:37
On resuming—