Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of premises audited by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under ASPA in Great Britain, are subject to the full requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). This provides for a regulatory regimen of activities that protects animals in science including facilities audits by the Home Office to ensure compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.
Each establishment will receive an audit at least every three years if it does not hold special species and at least every year if it holds specially protected species.
The Regulator is undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are employed to (a) process and (b) issue project licences for experiments using animals regulated by the Animal Welfare (Scientific Experiments) Act 1986.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of staff that are employed to process and issue project licences in the Home Office Regulator, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, are published in the Regulator’s annual report accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports. At the end of 2023 the total number of Inspector staff in the Regulator was 17.
The Regulator is undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors to 22 by end of 2025. The Regulator will then operate a flexibly resourced licensing function and allocate resource according to demand.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 24 of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual report for 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what steps her Department is taking to improve the ability of the inspection regime to detect animal welfare failings.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Regulator’s annual report details the range of ways in which it detects non-compliance and seeks to drive greater compliance.
Through a current regulatory reform programme, the Regulator is presently recruiting to have more Inspectors for compliance related activities and will be reviewing its compliance regime for continuous improvement.
To provide assurance of compliance with the Regulations, the Regulator provides clear and accessible guidance and conducts regular on-site audits. The published framework for audit is based on clear benchmarks and assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit's Annual Report for 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) letters of reprimand and (b) other sanctions in response to (i) animals dying after being left without food or water and (ii) other animal welfare failings.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously .
The Regulator applies proportionate sanctions in cases of non-compliance in accordance with its published compliance policy, which aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.
More rigorous sanctions are used in cases where animal welfare is impacted or there are significant systems failures.
For cases of non-compliance where animals experienced adverse welfare outcomes there was a 48% reduction in 2023 compared to 2022.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the (a) Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and (b) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on (i) coordinated action to deliver the phase out of animal testing and (ii) the potential merits of establishing a cross-Government taskforce.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government has made a commitment to the development of alternative methodologies to the use of animals in science and Lord Hanson has held discussions on the delivery of that commitment with Ministers for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The plan we develop will maintain the UK’s place at the forefront of science development and innovation.
In the limited circumstances where there is no animal alternative and procedures are required to deliver important benefits to people, the environment, and other animals then we deliver robust, rigorous and trustworthy regulation of those procedures.
The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal: animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible; that experiments are appropriate designed and analysed experiments that are robust, reproducible, and add to the knowledge base; and that we assure the methodologies use the latest technologies to minimise pain, suffering and distress and improve understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects the end of (a) animal testing and (b) testing on beagles at MBR Acres.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government has made a commitment to the development of alternative methodologies to the use of animals in science. The plan we develop will maintain the UK’s place at the forefront of science development and innovation.
In the limited circumstances where there is no animal alternative and procedures are required to deliver important benefits to people, the environment, and other animals then we deliver robust, rigorous and trustworthy regulation of those procedures.
The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal: animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible; that experiments are appropriate designed and analysed experiments that are robust, reproducible, and add to the knowledge base; and that we assure the methodologies use the latest technologies to minimise pain, suffering and distress and improve understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for project licences to conduct experiments on animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were refused permission between 1 January 2023 and 30 September 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
From 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2024, no applications for a project licence under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been 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.
Applications received by the regulator are frequently returned to the applicant for reconsideration. Applicants may amend or withdraw an application in response to feedback from the regulator.
Generally, the number of applications refused is not an indicator for the robustness of the regulatory regime.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the corporate report entitled Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2022, published on 25 April 2024, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for increases in incidents involving failure to provide adequate care for animals.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. In 2022 the Animals in Science Regulation Unit introduced improvements in how non-compliance is reported, which includes self-reporting. The self-reporting of non-compliance by establishments is vital to assure a culture of compliance. The increase in numbers of reported non-compliances in the annual report was driven by increased self-reporting.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit will further evaluate trends in non-compliance as its regulatory reform programme develops. Every case is investigated, and remedies and sanctions applied according to its published non-compliance policy.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to strengthen sanctions for those who breach conditions of a licence to conduct animal experiments for scientific research.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit applies sanctions in cases of non-compliance in accordance with its compliance policy, which aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.
More rigorous sanctions are used in cases where animal welfare is impacted or there are significant systems failures.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit's Annual Report 2022 on 25 April, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of sanctions such as inspector advice and compliance letters in response to animal welfare failings, including animals dying because of a lack of food or water.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The Animals in Science Regulation Unit responds to and applies sanctions in cases of non-compliance in accordance with its compliance policy, which aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance. More rigorous sanctions are used in cases where animal welfare is impacted or there are significant systems failures.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit will continue to assess the proportionality of its responses to cases of non-compliance.