Re:  Dangerous Dogs – Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Inquiry – Review of Dog Control Law

Re:  Dangerous Dogs – Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Inquiry – Review of Dog Control Law

This is an update further to LTB 572/18 issued on 9 October 2018.

Oral Evidence Session

This is to inform you all that the Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Secretary has invited me on behalf of the Communication Workers Union to give oral evidence to the Committee of MLAs public inquiry which is undertaking a post-legislative scrutiny review of Dog Control Law in Scotland, namely the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 and associated legislation. This will take place on Thursday 21^st February 2019 at 10am in the Scottish Parliament building, Holyrood, Edinburgh and is expected to last up to 1 hour, 30 minutes. The Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee round table discussion meeting session starts at 9am with my session scheduled for approximately 10.00am

The meeting is in public and seats are available in the public gallery if anyone wishes to come along. People attending will require a ticket (see below). The first session will be focusing on victims and relatives of victims of dog attacks.

Organisations represented at the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee round table meeting are CWU, SSPCA, NFU Scotland, British Veterinary Association and the Dog Warden Association.

Bite-Back Campaign Re-Launch

As you will know, the CWU ‘Bite-Back’ campaign was re-launched in Scotland in 2018 and we have been lobbying hard, engaging with Ministers and MLAs over the last year in efforts to press for further changes and strengthening of the dog control laws and its enforcement in Scotland which I have to say is far from satisfactory. Our campaign led to a Motion coming before the Scottish Parliament on reviewing the Scottish Dangerous Dogs Law, I’m proud to say and the Motion was carried unanimously, supported by every Political Party after I had met and engaged them all. This was followed by meetings with the Minister and shadow Ministers and Party Leaders. This has culminated in the Inquiry now with the Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee.

CWU Written Evidence

A report and copy of the CWU Written Submission to the Scottish Parliament Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Inquiry was circulated in LTB 572/18 for your perusal and information see attached copy of LTB 572/18 entitled ‘Dangerous Dogs – Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Review of Dog Control Law – CWU Written Submission’ along with my CWU ‘Dog Attacks on Postal Workers Campaign Booklet’ for your information.

Public Tickets for Committees Meetings

Members of the public can attend committee meetings. A free ticket is required for a seat in the public gallery of a committee room. Tickets can be requested using the ticket request form or emailing or calling Visitor Services. Each Committee room has a public gallery. Members of the public may come and go during a public meeting; they don’t need to stay in for the whole time. Anyone attending will need a ticket from Visitor Services to sit in the gallery. To obtain a ticket, ask at the desk in the Main Hall, or you can order a ticket in advance.

TV Broadcasting

This meeting will be broadcast on Parliament TV and every public Committee meeting is webcast live on the Parliament Website so the session can also be watched on live TV via the Parliament Website. A live webcast of every public Committee is broadcast and after the meeting, this footage is uploaded to the Scottish Parliament Website and you can usually watch a recording of the footage within a few hours of the meeting, and if you want to share a clip from it you can do that by clicking on the ‘share’ button below the video and entering the time frames you wish to view or use.

Meeting Official Report

The Official Report is the written record of the meeting, and it’s usually published within a few days of the meeting.

Further Information 

Keith Currie Committee Assistant Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP Tel – 0131 348 5237Email: Keith.Currie@parliament.scot

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB113 Dangerous Dogs – Scottish Government Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee Inquiry

18LTB572 Dangerous Dogs – Scottish Government Review_

Dog Attacks on Postal Workers Example Cases (V8a) April 2018