Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 158888 on Dogs: Animal Breeding, which local authorities have failed to provide annual returns detailing the number of licenced dog breeders under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

For the 2021-22 reporting period, my Department received returns from 233 local authorities in England, which represents a doubling of the response rate from the previous year.

My Department asks all local authorities to complete their returns in full. The 2022-23 data return opened on 1st April and will run until 31st May. This year, my officials have used multiple platforms to remind local authorities of their obligation to provide their returns and of the benefits of doing so.