Found: would be increased from £18,600 to £38,700.35On 21 December 2023, in response to a written question Lord

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 26 March (HL3210), when they anticipate that officials will complete their work and that a decision will be taken by ministers.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As per my response on 26^th March, I will return to the House in due course after receiving advice from officials on the considerations of whether the type of review of Operation Conifer the noble Lord and colleagues call for is necessary.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the fees for licences to use animals in scientific research, and (2) to seek to reduce the use of animals in such research.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government has laid a Statutory Instrument in parliament to increase the fees payable for licences under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to come into effect on 6th April 2024.

The Government recently announced that it will double investment, from £10m to £20m per annum, in research to achieve the three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) and develop non-animal alternatives. The Government will also publish a plan to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of technologies and methods to reduce reliance on the use of animals in science.

The Government is committed to opportunities for reducing the use of animals in scientific research. Specifically, this Government has recently accepted the recommendations of the independent Animals in Science Committee to further restrict the use of the forced swim test and apply enhanced scrutiny to any proposal to use it in research. However, we intend to go further and have set an aim to completely eliminate its use, thus driving the development and validation of suitable alternatives (see: www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-on-the-use-of-the-forced-swim-test-letter-from-lord-sharpe/letter-from-lord-sharpe-of-epsom-responding-to-the-asc-forced-swim-test-report-accessible).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 15 March (HL2855), how long each of the 118 unaccompanied children seeking asylum have been missing; and what are the individual ages of the 18 children now under the age of 18 who are still missing.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This data has not previously been published and quality assured to that standard. We are unable to provide it in response to this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 11 March (HL Deb col 1806) when, and in what form, he will “report back” to the House about inquiries that are to be made by Home Office officials.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

I will return to the House in due course after receiving advice from officials on the considerations of whether the type of review of Operation Conifer the noble Lord calls for is necessary, possible and/or viable.

Found: Letter dated 26/03/2024 from Lord Sharpe of Epsom to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the above document

Found: Letter dated 26/03/2024 from Lord Sharpe of Epsom to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the above document

Found: Letter dated 27/03/2024 from Lord Sharpe of Epsom to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the above document

Found: Letter dated 27/03/2024 from Lord Sharpe of Epsom to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the above document