Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many experiments were conducted on animals by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on behalf of his Department in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Animal experiments are regulated by the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). Under ASPA, "animal experiments" are referred to as "scientific procedures". In accordance with ASPA, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) makes an annual report of scientific procedures to the Home Office.
The numbers of scientific procedures using animals conducted at Dstl in 2019 was 1,500 and in 2020 the figure was 1,194.
Animal experiments at present remain a necessary part of Defence research and enable Dstl to develop protective measures for the UK and its Armed Forces that save lives. Examples of protective measures are vaccines and treatments that prevent or reduce the effects of exposure to chemical and biological agents and treatments for traumatic injuries. Dstl does not conduct animal experiments for the development or testing of offensive weapons and the Home Office does not grant licences for these purposes.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2020 to Question 9721, on Porton Down: Animal Experiments, on which species of animal were scientific procedures conducted in each year from 2009 to 2018; and how many scientific procedures were conducted on each species.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested is shown in the table below.
Number of scientific procedures, by species, for the years 2009 to 2018
Year | Dog | Domestic fowl | Guinea Pig | Hamster | Macaque (primate) | Marmoset (primate) | Mouse | Pig | Rabbit | Rat | Total |
2009 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 0 | 22 | 127 | 7,982 | 96 | 30 | 5 | 8,452 |
2010 | 0 | 0 | 308 | 30 | 47 | 197 | 8,553 | 140 | 50 | 113 | 9,438 |
2011 | 0 | 0 | 652 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 8,801 | 88 | 76 | 37 | 9,722 |
2012 | 3 | 6 | 281 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 8,205 | 75 | 16 | 130 | 8,830 |
2013 | 0 | 0 | 447 | 0 | 0 | 193 | 5,641 | 108 | 4 | 68 | 6,461 |
2014 | 0 | 0 | 323 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 3,411 | 100 | 0 | 223 | 4,124 |
2015 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 2,894 | 58 | 0 | 124 | 3,249 |
2016 | 0 | 0 | 236 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 2,167 | 27 | 0 | 199 | 2,747 |
2017 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 3,400 | 52 | 0 | 240 | 3,905 |
2018 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 1,738 | 67 | 0 | 56 | 1,941 |
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2020 to Question 7222 Offshore Industry: Discrimination, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on his proposed review of regulations on the treatment of seafarers.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The provisions of The Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 are a matter for the Secretary of State for Transport. Officials from the Government Equalities Office are however liaising with those in the Department for Transport on the forthcoming review.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many experiments were conducted on animals by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on behalf of his Department in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by James Heappey
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) makes has an active programme to reduce and replace animal experiments and in recent years we have developed a number of alternative methods for testing that do not require animals. We will continue to look for alternatives so that we minimise our use of animals.
Animal experiments are regulated by the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). Under ASPA, “animal experiments” are referred to as “scientific procedures”. In accordance with ASPA, Dstl makes an annual report of scientific procedures to the Home Office.
The numbers of scientific procedures using animals conducted at Dstl Porton Down between 2009 and 2015 have been previously reported to the House as in the table below:
Year | Total |
2009 | 8,452 |
2010 | 9,438 |
2011 | 9,722 |
2012 | 8,830 |
2013 | 6,461 |
2014 | 4,124 |
2015 | 3,249 |
For the years 2016 to 2018, the numbers of procedures are in the table below. Data for 2019 will be available later this year.
Year | Total |
2016 | 2,747 |
2017 | 3,905 |
2018 | 1,941 |
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people born on 3 May 2000 or earlier are in possession of a military identification card registered in (a) Woking, (b) Gosport, (c) Bromley or (d) Watford local authority who are aged (i) under 24, (ii) 25 to 49, (iii) 50 to 64 and (iv) 65 or older.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
There are no UK Armed Forces Regular personnel stationed in the Woking, Bromley or Watford Local Authorities. The table below provides the requested information for Gosport, as at 1 October 2017.
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Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps UK forces take to avoid civilian casualties when targeting (a) oil facilities and (b) other infrastructure in Syria.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Regardless of the type of target being considered, the UK performs an assessment prior to every UK strike to assess the likelihood of any civilian casualties. This examines the impact of the strike on the surrounding area and whether there are likely to be any civilians present.
The UK military takes every possible step to avoid civilian casualties.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is provided to officials of his Department working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project on responding to whistleblowers from the private sector.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Members of the MOD Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) and Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications (SANGCOM) Project attend a mandatory bribery and fraud awareness workshop which explains current legislation in this area, assists members to understand their responsibilities under the provisions of the legislation and identifies areas of risk of bribery and fraud within the workplace. This training highlights the statutory protection against dismissal and victimisation provided to whistleblowers under the provisions of the Public Disclosure Act 1998 and provides advice on reporting suspicious activity.