Chamber and committees

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and I have both held discussions with Police Scotland this year to discuss implementation of the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs. Further Ministerial engagement is planned. Scottish Government officials are also engaging with Police Scotland Local Policing Programme and local authorities on the issue of XL Bully dogs.

As I stated in response to question S6W-24479, there is a significant degree of uncertainty across the UK as to the size of the population of XL Bully dogs. It is clear from the number of applications received from XL Bully owners in England and Wales seeking exemption for their dogs that the initial estimate of 10,000 dogs was a significant underestimate.

Various estimates from other bodies on the possible number of XL Bully dogs in England and Wales have ranged from 50,000 to 150,000. If there were 50,000 XL Bully dogs in England and Wales, this may suggest an estimated population of 5,000 XL Bully dogs in Scotland. However this figure carries a considerable degree of uncertainty.

This is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Police Scotland has advised that all Police Scotland Dog Handlers receive training in dangerous dogs as part of their initial training course. There are currently 74 Handlers/Instructors across Police Scotland.

Armed Policing are also trained in how to deal with dangerous dogs.

It is a matter for Police Scotland to consider the enforcement of the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs and any operational issues that arise.

The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with Police Scotland as we move through the two-stage process for the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs, in order to consider any issues, concerns, or barriers to effective implementation.

Following the recent Scottish Government announcement on XL Bully dog safeguards, Scottish Government officials are continuing to engage regularly with various stakeholders about the impact of the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs on kennels and re-homing centres.

These stakeholder engagements provide an opportunity to regularly assess any emerging issues on rescue centre capacity.

The British Veterinary Association are members of the Dog Control Coalition. I last met with the Dog Control Coalition to 8 February 2024 to discuss the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs, and I committed to further regular engagement with the Dog Control Coalition going forward.

My officials also meet with the Dog Control Coalition on a regular basis.

Yes, the definition used for an XL Bully dog will be the same as the UK Government set out for England and Wales.

Helpful and practical support and guidance has been published on the Scottish Government website to ensure owners are made aware of how to comply with the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs, with further information to be published in the coming period: https://www.gov.scot/publications/xl-bully-dog-rules/ .

The Scottish Government has met and continues to meet with a range of stakeholders to help to inform our policy approach on XL Bully dogs and consider any issues or possible barriers to implementation in relation to the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs. We engage regularly with the Scottish SPCA, the Dogs Trust, The Dog Control Coalition (whose members include the British Veterinary Association), individual clinical dog behaviourists, the National Dog Warden Association, local authorities and Police Scotland.

We are taking a two-stage approach for the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs, subject to Parliamentary approval.

The first stage will mean that from 23 February 2024, XL Bully owners must ensure their dogs are muzzled and on a lead when in a public place. Selling, gifting or exchanging XL Bully dogs will be prohibited. It will remain legal to own an XL Bully dog.

The second stage will mean that from 1 August 2024, it will be an offence to own a XL Bully dog without an exemption. Owners of an XL Bully dog will need to apply for an exemption on or before 31 July 2024 to be able to continue owning their dog.

The details of the exemption scheme such as the start date for applications, requirements to receive an exemption as well as arrangements for compensation for any XL Bully dog owners not wishing to retain their dogs, will be published in the coming weeks as legislation is brought forward.

In the meantime, helpful and practical support and guidance has been published on the Scottish Government website to ensure owners are made aware of how to comply with the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs, with further information to be published in the coming period: https://www.gov.scot/publications/xl-bully-dog-rules/ .

In follow up to parliamentary question S6W-24240 answered on 19 January 2024. CalMac Ferries Limited have not carried out any assessment of the potential impact that heavier electric vehicles will have on the vehicle carrying capacity of the fleet. I understand that both our operators keep up to date with the latest developments and follow all Maritime Coast Guard Agency (MCA) guidance. The carrying Electric Vehicles (EV) has been assessed by trained personnel and the operators have developed procedures following the release of specific guidance issued by the MCA (MGN 653) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). This guidance was developed through consultation with the industry, and specifically the industry body, Inter-Ferry of which they are a members.

There is no single crime of animal cruelty and such crimes are identified differently in the annual National Statistics publications on Recorded Crime in Scotland and Criminal Proceedings in Scotland . These publications are based on separate and unlinked data sets and cannot be considered as proportions of each other.

Recorded Crime in Scotland is based on a count of crimes reported to Police Scotland. The year is based on when any crime(s) were reported to police. Animal cruelty offences are only identifiable at crime level and the most recent publication covers the 2022-23 financial year.

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland is based on a count of people proceeded against in court. A person may be proceeded against for more than one crime and multiple people may be proceeded against for the same crime. Only the main charge is counted in the statistics. The main charge is the one that conveys the most severe penalty and the year is based on the date when proceedings concluded in court. This can be in a later year than when any crime(s) were reported to Police Scotland. Animal cruelty offences are identified at charge level and the most recent publication covers the 2021-22 financial year.

Both data sets cover the animal cruelty crimes of:

• Cruelty to animals (ex dogs) inc killing and maiming cattle
• Cruelty to dogs
• Cruelty to wild animals
• Hunting with dogs

Note: Criminal proceedings data does not distinguish between these first two crimes and they are presented as a single total in the prosecuted and convicted following tables.

Criminal proceedings additionally covers parts of the following crimes:

• Animals, offences involving (ex dogs, birds elswhr classfd) – specifically where the main charge fell under Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 Section 23(1)(A), 23(2), 23(4) or 24
• Pet and kept animals– specifically where the main charge fell under Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 Section 20(1)(A)
• Sea fisheries offences– specifically where the main charge fell under Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 Section 107

Table: Crimes of animal cruelty reported to Police Scotland, by crime type, 2012-13 to 2022-23

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

The following table gives the leakage levels as a proportion of the water put into supply since 2007. All values are expressed as Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) except for 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10; Scottish Water switched to MLE reporting in AR11 - AR08, AR09, and AR10 were top down estimates.