Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, between 1 January 2021-31 December 2025, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, how many 'service' licences were granted for multiple generic projects.

To obtain this information would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

The Home Office will only grant licences where it is satisfied that the statutory requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been met, including that the work is scientifically justified and that there is no suitable nonanimal alternative.

The Home Office publishes annual statistics on scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain, which include information on the number of procedures carried out, the species used, and the purposes for which procedures are undertaken.

The Home Office also publishes non-technical summaries of all licenced programme of work, setting out their objectives, predicted harms, expected benefits, and the number and types of animals to be used.

In addition, the Animals in Science Regulation Unit publishes an annual report setting out the total number of project licences granted each year.

The annual report and annual statistics for 2025 are due for publication later this year. Non-technical summaries are published on a quarterly basis.

The annual reports are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports

The non-technical summaries are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/non-technical-summaries-of-projects-granted-under-aspa

The annual statistics are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2024