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Will the minister concede that my wording is lifted, word for word, from the Government’s own code of practice, which says:

“Although the Code does not have legislative effect, it is intended to promote and give examples of good practice”?

Is it not the case that the bill duplicates that?

Rachael Hamilton has been helpful, in a sense—perhaps she did not mean to be—about the code being targeted at the point before you acquire a puppy or a dog. Any publicity campaign would simply be aimed directly at people buying online or out the back of a car or a lorry, or at people thinking that they were rescuing the dog. Those are all methods that we know that serious organised criminals use. We know that the puppies cost £3,500 or £4,000, and that there are maybe six crammed into a crate, having been taken away from their mothers and not being socialised. The code will get people to focus on that narrow aspect, because that sort of thing is still happening.

I am going to acquiesce, which is new for me. The list of questions in my bill that require to be answered are clear and cover key considerations that anyone should work through before deciding whether they are able to look after a dog, including with regard to the breed and the person’s situation. However, I heard what the minister said, and we now have an assurance, which is on the record in red letters, that the code will be put into plain English. I do not want words such as “acquire” or “environment” to be used, if possible. I want the code to say things such as “getting a dog” or “caring for a dog” in clear English that is simple to understand; it does not need to be complicated.

The questions that I included in my bill were just the questions that anyone would ask themselves. I appreciate that the language is not legalese. I am happy with that, and I want the code to be in conversational language.

I think that Ariane Burgess’s amendment is a good one. One of the key things that she suggested is that someone might ask the vet whether they were aware of the breeder or the bitch that their dog came from. If someone went to see the vet in advance and registered with them, if they were good, they might even give advice, if the query—

I am content with all of the Government’s amendments in the group as they will make the language in the bill clearer in a number of ways. I support the changes in relation to seeing the mother with the puppy and ensuring that the puppy is at least eight weeks old.

I listened to your comments, convener, but it seems to me that your amendment 69 duplicates what the Government is already doing. If I have got that wrong, I will be interested to hear what is said, but I do not have a vote; I am just listening to the debate.

I support the policy intention behind Ariane Burgess’s amendments. I am particularly interested in the provision on the transfer of any health records. That goes back to the issue that, broadly speaking—although not always—when puppies are imported from puppy farms, they have dreadful health conditions and behavioural problems. That is well documented. I very much welcome that provision, but I hear what the minister had to say. I will be interested to see what the committee decides.

I am sorry—I could not quite hear all of that. All that I am putting to the committee is that my bill pretty well replicates what is in the existing code of practice under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. In fact, section 6(1) of my bill says:

“A person’s failure to comply with any provision of the code of practice does not of itself make the person liable to proceedings of any sort.”

What is in my bill is almost the same as what is in the existing code of practice—word for word. I do not see what the problem is or how the bill will differ from the existing code of practice, which is in the Scottish Government’s own words. In addition, asking someone to confirm that they understand the consequences of getting a dog—among other questions on the certificate—is a means of ensuring that the acquirer understands the commitment that getting a dog involves. It is important that they understand that.

As with my colleague Rachael Hamilton, my view is that there is no point in the measure if it is nothing. What is in my bill is not to do with perception; it is evidential and not punitive. It is for educational purposes, and it will show that there was engagement between the acquirer and the person transferring the dog when the transfer took place. It will show that they were both committed and had read and understood the wording.

As I said, the measure is not legally binding, but neither was what was in the code of practice. The language is exactly the same. I say right now—because this is a red line for me—that, if the Government’s amendments succeed, I will bring back the provisions at stage 3. I might tweak them a little, but I will be coming back with the same thrust.

On Ariane Burgess’s amendment 4, I am very sympathetic to the role of veterinary surgeons, which is extremely important.

You are on to a hobby-horse of mine, Edward. You have been terribly patient and have waited until the end of the meeting. This is an important issue. I have long thought that we should have a central database for microchipping dogs. It is common sense.

I can draw a comparison with the scheme for dog control notices, which were originally registered only in the relevant council area. That was pretty useless, because people could move their dogs from one place to another. Now we have a Scottish database for dog control notices, so that aspect has been done. I am not saying that it would be as easy to establish a microchipping database. I have no vote on the matter, because I am not a member of the committee, but I would be sympathetic to there being a preliminary review of what we already have.

I notice that, in your amendment 59, subsection (2)(b) of the proposed new section contains a list of what should be covered by such a database. I would also put dog control notices on it, because then there would be, as it were, a biography of each dog: where it came from, who acquired it, the owner, the veterinary practitioners, and whether a dog control notice had ever been issued in relation to it. That would keep people in touch with the information. At the end of the day, it is not dogs or puppies who are to blame for any of the situations that we have been discussing; it is the people who acquire them and have them for the next 15 or 16 years. They can have a wonderful relationship or, at the other end of the scale, it can be dreadful for the animal, and sometimes for the owner—although I must admit that I am more concerned about the animal because it is in the weaker position.

On the UK aspects, I wrote to Lord Douglas-Miller when he was the relevant under-secretary of state. He seemed to be a nice man, by the way; I got a nice letter back from him, dated 15 April 2024, about a UK-wide microchipping database. I will not read the whole letter—I will be happy to let the committee see it later—but I will quote a few words from it:

“We have recently published our response. It was a consultation about a central database ... in which we committed to introducing a single point of search portal. My officials will be discussing with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations the scope to develop the portal on a UK basis.”

That was in April. Since then, we have had a change of UK Government. We know that one Government cannot bind another, but it seems that, in April, that process was already in train. I get the sense that this is about agitating to get some pace and pressure behind the proposal to move it on. I think that Edward Mountain’s amendment is saying that we should first see what we have and what we could improve, and the next step would be to ask how we could put that information into a UK national database.

That was not my question, minister. My question is: does my wording duplicate the wording in the existing code?

This is rather important.

I would like to, if I may, convener, with your leave.

Nobody is creating a criminal offence—that is patently obvious. If I might be quite frank, I think that the problem for the minister is that we are on pretty thin ice here. I am lifting language straight from the existing code of practice, which makes it plain that it

“does not have legislative effect”

but promotes

“examples of good practice.”

If I lift everything else and put it straight into my bill, I do not see the grounds for arguing that I am doing something punitive and something different from what is in an existing code of practice that the Government itself drafted.