Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 15 July (HL1807), how many licence applications have been withdrawn in response to feedback from the Home Office Regulator during the assessment process, and whether there is a limit on the number of times an application may be revised and resubmitted.

In 2024, eight project licence applications and, in 2025, six project licence applications were withdrawn by the applicant. The Regulator does not hold information on the reasons why those applications were withdrawn so cannot comment on whether they were withdrawn in response to regulatory feedback.

Amendments to project licence applications are a routine part of the assessment process, are based on discussions between the Regulator and the applicant and could be about any aspect of the licence. There is no limit to the number of revisions and resubmissions that can be made.

All applications are subject to multiple stages of review prior to submission to the Home Office, including the scrutiny by an establishment’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body and sign off by the establishment licence holder. A licence may only be granted where the application satisfies all relevant requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.