§ Mr. John Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been granted by the Home Office in each of the past five years for the use of animals in cosmetics tests.
§ Dr. SummerskillLicences issued under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 relate to the qualifications of the licensee and not to the experiments which may be performed under its authority. Information about the number of experiments in which animals are used to test cosmetics is not available. But the revision of the Annual Return of Experiments which is in hand is intended to make more information of this kind available.
§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the Littlewood Committee's recommendations have been implemented.
§ Dr. SummerskillAlmost half the recommendations endorsed the retention of existing controls or proposed that statutory force should be given to restrictions now imposed administratively. As regards the more important of the remaining recommendations, partial implementation has been achieved by an increase in the size of the Cruelty to Animals Inspectorate and the addition of four non-scientific members to the Advisory Committee on the Administration of the Act. In addition, 155W we are at present reviewing the membership and functions of the committee and the amount and type of information published in the Annual Return of Experiments.