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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2022, published on 25 April 2024, if he will make it his policy to initiate an investigation into the reasons for the rise in non-compliance cases since 2021.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The reasons for the increase in the number of non-compliance cases in 2022 include the introduction of a risk-based audit programme and the drive to improve governance within establishments, including 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, using more rigorous sanctions 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 what plans they have to introduce a public database containing non-technical summaries of research projects involving testing on animals.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance on completing the non-technical summary, in accordance with the legislation, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#guidance-notes-for-project-licence-applications. The non-technical summaries provided by project licence applicants are assessed by Inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) against the published guidance before issuing a granted licence.
ASRU has no plans to introduce a non-technical summaries database. All non-technical summaries are made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. The Home Office seeks to continually improve their standard and publication accessibility through stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of non-technical summaries of research projects involving animal testing.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance on completing the non-technical summary, in accordance with the legislation, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#guidance-notes-for-project-licence-applications. The non-technical summaries provided by project licence applicants are assessed by Inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) against the published guidance before issuing a granted licence.
ASRU has no plans to introduce a non-technical summaries database. All non-technical summaries are made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. The Home Office seeks to continually improve their standard and publication accessibility through stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Laura Farris (Conservative - Newbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to bring animal breeding for testing within the scope of the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of compliance with commercial breeding licences for animal testing.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides protections for animals bred for the use in scientific procedures. Establishments licenced to breed animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for appropriate care and accommodation of animals.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit conduct audits and inspections to ensure establishments comply with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 specifically exempts any use of animals for scientific or educational purposes legally conducted and regulated under ASPA.
The Government has no plans to change the current position with respect these pieces of legislation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research entitled The role of review and regulatory approvals processes for animal research in supporting implementation of the 3Rs published in 2023, whether the Animals in Science Regulation Unit will begin auditing the effectiveness of the Named Information Officer role.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is considering the independent report of February 2023, commissioned by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.
The Home Office publishes Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and on its audit process. The latter is available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits. The requirements of the Animal Welfare Ethical Review Body (AWERB) and the Named Information Officer (NIO) role are set out in the guidance, including how the AWERB and NIO role will be assessed under the audit framework.
The independent Animals in Science Committee has produced a report to support the operation of AWERBs, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/awerb-hub-support-note.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many existing legacy licences are in force for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals; how many animals have been used for (a) such testing and (b) testing for ingredients used in (i) cosmetics and (ii) other types of products in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and whether she is taking steps to phase out such licences.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit has granted seven project licences, or amendments to licences, that are currently active, that specifically authorise the testing on animals of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics under the REACH regulations.
A project licence authorises a programme of work within which the procedures are performed. Data are not collected on the specific numbers of animals used for individual tests.
The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of animals in scientific procedures. The statistics can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics
The Government is engaging with the relevant companies to review and determine a way forward on the remaining active licences.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of existing legacy licences for testing exclusive-use cosmetics ingredients on animals on animal welfare.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on legacy licences.
All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Great Britain are subject to the full requirements of the Act. This provides for a regulatory regimen of activities that protects animals in science including audits and inspections by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to ensure compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with the Act.
Both announced and unannounced site visits are undertaken within a risk-based framework to assure compliance and inspect the welfare, health, and environment of animals at each establishment.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licenses for animal testing of cosmetic ingredients have been issued since 2019 as a result of the European Chemicals Agency ruling; and to whom those licenses were issued.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Animal testing of cosmetics for consumer safety has been banned in the UK since 1998 and this remains in force.
On 17 May 2023 the Government announced it is going further by banning, with immediate effect, licences to test ingredients exclusively used in the production of cosmetics for the purposes of worker safety.
The Home Secretary has issued a Written Ministerial Statement, which can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-05-17/hcws779.
Since 2019, the Animals in Science Regulation Unit has granted seven project licences, or amendments to licences, that specifically authorise the testing on animals of chemicals for use as ingredients in cosmetics under the REACH regulations.
The Home Office does not publish details of licensed establishments.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to increase the transparency of licensing applications for the performing of scientific procedures on living animals.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government publishes extensive information about the use of animals in science in Great Britain, including: guidance on the operation of ASPA (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-animals-scientific-procedures-act-1986); and national annual statistics on the use of animals in scientific procedures (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics).
For each project licence granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA) 1986 a Non-Technical Summary is published, available here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries.