§ Mr. MellorI beg to move amendment No. 22, in page 9, line 31 after 'scientific', insert 'or other appropriate'.
§ Mr. SpeakerWith this it will be convenient to take amendment No. 23, in page 9, line 33 after 'scientific', insert 'or animal welfare'.
§ Mr. MellorAfter some discussion in Committee, it was suggested that we should mention that there would be other appropriate qualifications. It was specified in the original amendment in Committee that animal welfare qualifications were the appropriate ones. The difficulty is one of definition, of knowing what animal welfare qualifications mean as a concept in the Bill. For that reason, having taken advice from draftsmen, "or other appropriate" is suggested. That would embrace animal welfare expertise as being of increasing significance, in 105 my judgment, in meeting the demands placed upon research establishments by the new statutory arrangements.
Mr. Mark HughesI am grateful for what the Minister has said. Clearly, there was a difficulty that those with wholly proper animal welfare qualifications appeared, as the Bill was originally drafted, to be excluded. If the Minister can assure the House, as I believe his comments did, that the words "or other appropriate" mean people without university standard qualifications but with good experience and proper qualifications to do the job, I would not wish to proceed with our amendment and I would support the Government.
§ Amendment agreed to.