No New Dog Licence for Great Britain: What the Taskforce Advised
The government has ruled out bringing back dog licences in Great Britain. Owners will not have to pay a fee to keep a dog.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said ministers were considering the taskforce recommendations but would not introduce a new licensing scheme. The BBC reported the statement as the government published the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce report on 24 September.
The taskforce, a group of experts asked to advise ministers, was set up in 2022 after a series of high-profile dog attacks. Defra said it later asked the group to meet again to look at responsible ownership across all breeds. Its report, published on 24 September, sets out recommendations to encourage responsible ownership and reduce attacks, as set out in the government report.
The taskforce said the government should consider new legal duties for owners to improve control and cut the risk of attacks. The report makes 20 recommendations. They include a council service to deal with low-level control problems, better recording of bite injuries, and legal rules for dog walkers.
Since 2011, the UK dog population has grown by 35%. Hospital admissions for dog bites in England, where health data are collected separately, have risen by 77% over the same period, according to the BBC.
A licence worked a bit like car tax for dogs, a flat annual payment to keep one legally. Until 1987, owners in England, Wales and Scotland paid such a fee. Ministers said the scheme cost more to run than it raised. The Local Government Act 1988 then ended it in Great Britain. Northern Ireland kept a separate system. Owners there must buy a licence for £12.50, or £5 if they receive an income-related benefit.
A parliamentary petition for a compulsory licence for all owners was rejected on 14 April 2026. Dogs must already be microchipped, fitted with a tiny chip under the skin so they can be traced. The debate has also involved the Dog Control Coalition, which includes the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Royal Kennel Club. Ministers published a separate response on 25 March to the Animal Sentience Committee report on XL Bullies and the Dangerous Dogs Act, the law that bans certain types and sets out offences.
The broader context here is familiar in Whitehall. A licence is easy to describe and hard to enforce. The pre-1987 experience left caution about cost recovery, and any new scheme for Great Britain would need councils with capacity to run it and enough owners paying to fund it.
What this means for the policy that remains is a shift to less visible tools. A council service for low-level issues points to early action rather than prosecution after an attack. Better recording of injuries points to NHS data in England as the evidence for future choices. Rules for walkers point to commercial handling, where limits on numbers and control in public places are easier to put in law than standards for every pet at home. The test now is which of the 20 recommendations Defra takes forward, on what timetable, and with what funding for councils.
