L ike many other members, I have been contacted by constituents about the Scottish Government’s position on the XL bully dog breed. In the light of the new controls on the breed in England and Wales, which will come into effect on 1 February, will the First Minister outline when his Government will reach a decision of its own on the issue?

I t is probably worth saying, first and foremost, that what is happening in England and Wales cannot be described as a ban on XL bully dogs. Owners can still keep an XL bully dog, but they must make sure that it is registered on the exemption index and must fulfil the other criteria of the legislation.

When the UK Government’s action on XL bully dogs was first announced, which was done without any consultation with the Scottish Government or, as far as I can see, with animal welfare stakeholders, we committed to engaging with animal welfare stakeholders and, of course, to continuing to engage with the UK Government.

I am afraid that it has become clear in the past few weeks that we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs to Scotland as a result of a number of people bringing such dogs to the country. That being the case—we will give further details of this to members of the Scottish Parliament through a ministerial statement next week, if the Parliamentary Bureau agrees to that—we will, in essence, replicate the legislation that exists in England and Wales here in Scotland.

Ultimately, although we have a very good system of dog control notices and we take a deed-not-breed approach, we must respond to the situation as it currently stands. Therefore, we will do what we need to do to ensure public safety. Further detail will be given by the appropriate minister next week, subject to that being agreed by the Parliamentary Bureau.