Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of project licences applied for under the Animal Welfare (Scientific Experiments) Act 1986 were refused in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Between 1 January 2021 and 1 January 2025, one application for a project licence under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was refused.

The Government publishes extensive guidance for the regulated sector on applying for project licences. Applications are internally reviewed by an establishment’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body before being submitted to the regulator for assessment. Home Office Inspectors in the Regulator will only review applications from establishments that fulfil all requirements of the legislation.

Applications received by the regulator may be returned to the applicant for clarification and/or amendment before being re-assessed. Applicants may also amend or withdraw an application in response to feedback from the regulator.

The structuring of the application process means that the number of applications refused is not an indicator of the robustness of the regulatory regime.