Statement by the Slovak EU Presidency in response to the address by Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, by the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group and by Colonel Hans Lampalzer

Subject to subsections (2) to (4) below, this Act applies to any land which is open to the air and to which the public are entitled or permitted to have access (with or without payment).

This Act does not apply to land comprised in or running alongside a highway which comprises a carriageway unless the driving of motor vehicles on the carriageway is subject, otherwise than temporarily, to a speed limit of 40 miles per hour or less.

This Act does not apply to land of any of the following descriptions, namely—

Where a private Act confers powers for the regulation of any land, the person entitled to exercise those powers may, by notice in writing given to the local authority in whose area the land is situated, exclude the application of this Act to that land.

For the purposes of this section, any land which is covered shall be treated as land which is “open to the air” if it is open to the air on at least one side.

In this section—

A local authority may by order designate for the purposes of this Act any land in their area which is land to which this Act applies; and in this Act “designated land” means land to which this Act applies which is for the time being so designated.

The power conferred by subsection (1) above includes power to designate land either specifically or by description, and to revoke or amend orders previously made.

The Secretary of State shall by regulations prescribe the form of orders under subsection (1) above, and the procedure to be followed in the making of such orders.

Such regulations shall in particular include provision requiring local authorities to publicise the making and effect of such orders.

If a dog defecates at any time on designated land and a person who is in charge of the dog at that time fails to remove the faeces from the land forthwith, that person shall be guilty of an offence unless—

A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Nothing in this section applies to a person registered as a blind person in a register compiled under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948.

For the purposes of this section—

Where on any occasion an authorised officer of a local authority finds a person who he has reason to believe has on that occasion committed an offence under section 3 above in the area of that authority, he may give that person a notice offering him the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for that offence by payment of a fixed penalty.

Subsections (2) to (8) of section 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section but as if references to a litter authority were references to a local authority.

In subsection (8) of that section as it applies for the purposes of this section “chief finance officer”, in relation to a local authority, means the person having responsibility for the financial affairs of the authority.

In this section “authorised officer”, in relation to a local authority, means any employee of the authority who is authorised in writing by the authority for the purpose of issuing notices under this section.

In subsection (4) above, the reference to any employee of the authority includes references to—

Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order or regulations under this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

A statutory instrument containing an order or regulations under this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Subsections (2) and (3) below apply to any byelaw made by a local authority which has the effect of making any person in charge of a dog guilty of an offence if—

In so far as any byelaw to which this subsection applies would, apart from this subsection, have effect in relation to any designated land, the byelaw—

In so far as any byelaw to which this subsection applies still has effect at the end of the period of 10 years beginning with the day on which this Act comes into force, it shall cease to have effect at the end of that period in relation to any land to which this Act applies.

Where any omission would, apart from this subsection, constitute an offence both under section 3 above and under any byelaw other than one to which subsections (2) and (3) above apply, the omission shall not constitute an offence under the byelaw.

In this Act “local authority”—

The following are unitary authorities for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above, namely—

This Act may be cited as the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996.

This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

This Act extends to England and Wales only.