AQW 2054/22-27


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 23/06/2022
Answered On Date: 04/08/2022
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, pursuant to AQW 170/22-27, to detail the reasons that make the creation of a banned offenders register untenable and what evidence he used to come to this conclusion.


Answer:
The Department of Justice holds the information that would be needed to establish such a register. However, as any register would be animal welfare related, it indicated that my Department should lead on exploring whether or not establishing one is feasible. Following detailed consideration and clear advice from DoJ, my Department has regrettably concluded that the creation of a register is untenable because a clear evidential need has not been identified, the costs of establishing and maintaining a register would be significant and the data protection implications involved are prohibitive.
In term of the evidence used to come to this conclusion, my Department considered the relevant re-offending rates, data protection law, the position in other parts of the British Isles and research conducted there.
During the period from 2016 until 2020, the rate of re-offending in respect of animal welfare offences was 3.35%, with only three breaches of court disqualifications on the actual owning or keeping animals during that period. As such, my Department concluded that there was no overwhelming need for a register to be created based on current evidence, considering the number of instances when those convicted regained access to animals, and the value for public money.
Under data protection law, any information about criminal convictions is considered sensitive personal data. This means that it enjoys enhanced legal protection and can only be shared if certain conditions set out in law are met. My Department is not convinced that, without the consent of the person convicted, disclosing animal cruelty convictions to any non-statutory bodies and or the public would meet any of the relevant conditions.
No register of animal welfare offenders exists in any part of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland and there are no plans to create one. The Task and Finish Group established by the Welsh Government, and led by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to examine the establishment of an animal cruelty register there was unable to identify any evidence to prove that such registers are effective or identify a way to overcome the data protection and costs barriers also identified by my officials.