The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)
I beg to move,
That it be an instruction to the Control of Horses Bill Committee that it has power to make provision in the Bill about the powers of owners or occupiers of any land in England in relation to horses which are on the land without lawful authority.
The Control of Horses Bill sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Julian Sturdy) was supported by the Government on Second Reading and enjoyed support from across the House. I congratulate him on bringing this Bill forward.
The Bill amends section 7 of the Animals Act 1971 with respect to the process for managing horses present on land without lawful authority and applies to England only. In the case of fly-grazing, horses are often abandoned or deliberately placed on another person’s land without permission to do so. The Bill reduces the time that a landowner or a local authority is required to detain a horse before disposing of it from 14 days to four working days, and also creates alternative ways to dispose of horses, other than through sale at auction.
During the debate, the Government also accepted my hon. Friend’s request for this motion. The instruction is needed because the long title of the Bill provides for dealing with horses in public places only. With this instruction it will be possible for the Bill Committee to consider amendments to the Bill to extend its provision to private land. Should the Committee agree to those amendments, the long title of the Bill would then be adjusted accordingly.
This is an important Bill. It has cross-party support, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing it forward and commend the motion to the House.