Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 10 March 2021.
I mentioned in my earlier answer to Mike Hedges that the regulations we'll be bringing forward in two weeks' time go beyond Lucy's law. I am really desperately trying to get away from that phrase, because we've done a huge amount of work with the local authorities. We've had the local authority dog enforcement project, which was a three-year Welsh Government-funded project covering all local authorities in Wales, which began last year, and that will be the vehicle where we take forward these regulations, because I thought it was really important—. Because when we started looking—. When Lucy's law was first mentioned to me, probably about three years ago, it was really important to use the powers that we already had, because I think, when we looked, local authorities weren't using the powers that they already had. So, rather than rush to bring forward regulations, it was really important to look at what barriers were there that had been barriers to enforcement, if you like, that local authorities weren't using. They required enhanced training, and we provided that. They needed better guidance, and we provided that, and we needed to improve the use of resources within local authorities. Unfortunately, with reduced budgets to local authorities, sometimes it was this part of their portfolio that didn't have the attention it had, so I think it's really important. How I see it playing out over the next three years is that we work with local authorities to ensure they have the tools that are needed.
I think the point you raise around sanctuaries is really important, and I would have liked to have done further work in relation to sanctuaries in this term of Government. But, as I said, the capacity, unfortunately, hasn't been there to do everything and all the work streams and strands of work I would have liked to have done, but I do think that is something that a future Government, certainly if I was part of it or the Labour Party, would want to look at.