XL Bully register statistics: EIR release

Information requested

In relation to Certificates of Exemption for XL Bully dogs, a requirement which was introduced in Scotland this year - 

Could you please tell me

i) how many dogs are on the register currently and

ii) what the postcode or nearest geographical area is for each dog registered?

In addition, could you tell me how many applications have been

i) accepted

ii) rejected and

iii) accepted and then been removed due to breach in regulations?

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

As at 20 August 2024, the Scottish Government had issued 3,368 certificates of exemption to owners of XL Bully dogs in Scotland. As each relevant dog requires a certificate, this means 3,368 dogs are subject to exemption.

Regulation 11(2) – applicant has asked for personal data of a third party

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

It is within this context that we have provided information for each postal code area in Scotland, but we have limited the release of specific numbers of exemptions in postal code areas where there are fewer than 10 exemptions issued. This is based on the need to protect information that should not be disclosed as this could be potentially harmful if postal code information revealed the identity of exemption holders.

As some postal code areas have small numbers of exemption holders, it may be possible to identity these people if information was provided without this restriction.

The information broken down into postal code areas is attached as an Annex.

You have also asked '... how many applications have been i) accepted ii) rejected and iii) accepted and then been removed due to breach in regulations.’

1.  As noted above, as at 20 August 2024 the Scottish Government had issued 3,368 certificates of exemption to owners of XL Bully dogs in Scotland. All of these applications were accepted.
2. 799 applications for certificates of exemption were rejected by the online automated process during the four month period that the application system was open (1 April 2024 – 31 July 2024). Reasons for rejected applications vary, and included the submission of incorrect microchip number, invalid insurance policy start date, and non-payment of exemption fee. All unsuccessful applicants who were entitled to apply for an exemption certificate under the Scottish exemption scheme were able to re-apply.
3. Any breach of the regulations would be for Police Scotland as the lead enforcer under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to consider and investigate. The Scottish Government has not been informed of any holders of certificates of exemption having been found guilty of breaching regulations.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202400427716 - Information Released - Annex

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7 page PDF

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31.1 kB