5 March 2010
Mike Penning supports a private members' Bill to allow residents of care homes and sheltered accommodation to keep domestic pets in certain circumstances.
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): It is a privilege to support the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on behalf of the Opposition. The Bill has been drafted cleverly and concisely, and it addresses many of the concerns that we have heard today. Some areas could be tightened up, and the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) has highlighted some of those. Those points can be addressed in Committee.
I hope that the Government will support the Bill. Indeed, I hope that they will go further than not opposing it and work with my hon. Friend to get it through in the short time we have left in this Parliament. It is an important Bill that addresses an issue of natural justice, which may be an old concept but is eminently sensible. Why should someone who is leaving local authority housing, where they may have lived for many years, to move into sheltered accommodation managed by the same authority, be forced to get rid of a pet that they may also have had for many years?
We all visit care homes and sheltered accommodation in our constituencies, so we know that they can be very lonely places. There may be many people there, but residents can be isolated, perhaps because they have difficulty hearing or other problems associated with old age. Having a pet, even something as trivial-I do not like the word trivial, so perhaps I should say cuddly-as a budgerigar could be the stimulus that residents need to make their lives more fulfilling.
The hon. Member for Hendon mentioned the size of dogs, and he is right that some accommodation would not be suitable for, for example, a St. Bernard, but would be suitable for a Jack Russell or a Pom. It is only right and proper that this House looks at what is best for our constituents, especially those in state-owned accommodation paid for by the taxpayer.
Clause 2 addresses the concerns of the private sector, and the wording is important for those who fear this legislation might be imposed on them. It takes into consideration the type of premises, the other residents and the benefits of having a pet.
For the second time today we have a consensus. I hope that the Government will support the Bill and assist its passage. I hope that they will not just pay lip service to the Bill, but get involved. I hope that the Whips put people on the Committee who want the Bill to go through, rather than those who would seek to hold it up. If that happens, the quality of the lives of many of our elderly constituents could be improved by being able to keep their pets with them.
There are rescue centres for many different pets around our constituencies, and it is only right and proper that the Bill ensures that the type of pet is suitable for the premises-frankly, animals that some people call pets I would like to see in the wild, rather than in any form of cage or restrictive environment. Many pets are put down because a loving home cannot be found for them. Sometimes, they will have been for some time with a loving family that, owing to circumstances, have had to move to different premises where pets are not allowed. If we can save the lives of those pets, we will demonstrate the compassion towards animals that this country has shown for generations and centuries. Pets give an awful lot; is it not time that we gave something back to those pets? I commend the Bill to the House.
1.35 pm
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Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): It is a privilege to support the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on behalf of the Opposition. The Bill has been drafted cleverly and concisely, and it addresses many of the concerns that we have heard today. Some areas could be tightened up, and the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) has highlighted some of those. Those points can be addressed in Committee.
I hope that the Government will support the Bill. Indeed, I hope that they will go further than not opposing it and work with my hon. Friend to get it through in the short time we have left in this Parliament. It is an important Bill that addresses an issue of natural justice, which may be an old concept but is eminently sensible. Why should someone who is leaving local authority housing, where they may have lived for many years, to move into sheltered accommodation managed by the same authority, be forced to get rid of a pet that they may also have had for many years?
We all visit care homes and sheltered accommodation in our constituencies, so we know that they can be very lonely places. There may be many people there, but residents can be isolated, perhaps because they have difficulty hearing or other problems associated with old age. Having a pet, even something as trivial-I do not like the word trivial, so perhaps I should say cuddly-as a budgerigar could be the stimulus that residents need to make their lives more fulfilling.
The hon. Member for Hendon mentioned the size of dogs, and he is right that some accommodation would not be suitable for, for example, a St. Bernard, but would be suitable for a Jack Russell or a Pom. It is only right and proper that this House looks at what is best for our constituents, especially those in state-owned accommodation paid for by the taxpayer.
Clause 2 addresses the concerns of the private sector, and the wording is important for those who fear this legislation might be imposed on them. It takes into consideration the type of premises, the other residents and the benefits of having a pet.
For the second time today we have a consensus. I hope that the Government will support the Bill and assist its passage. I hope that they will not just pay lip service to the Bill, but get involved. I hope that the Whips put people on the Committee who want the Bill to go through, rather than those who would seek to hold it up. If that happens, the quality of the lives of many of our elderly constituents could be improved by being able to keep their pets with them.
There are rescue centres for many different pets around our constituencies, and it is only right and proper that the Bill ensures that the type of pet is suitable for the premises-frankly, animals that some people call pets I would like to see in the wild, rather than in any form of cage or restrictive environment. Many pets are put down because a loving home cannot be found for them. Sometimes, they will have been for some time with a loving family that, owing to circumstances, have had to move to different premises where pets are not allowed. If we can save the lives of those pets, we will demonstrate the compassion towards animals that this country has shown for generations and centuries. Pets give an awful lot; is it not time that we gave something back to those pets? I commend the Bill to the House.
1.35 pm
| Hansard
