§ Mr. NorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on how many occasions in 1989 a member of the Home Office inspectorate has visited the dog toxicology unit at Huntingdon research centre; or how many occasions the conditions in which animals were housed and cared for were found to be satisfactory and in line with the Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures;
(2) on how many occasions in 1989 a member of the Home Office inspectorate has visited Huntingdon research centre;
(3) on how many occasions in 1989 a member of the Home Office inspectorate has visited the rodent toxicology unit at Huntingdon research centre; and on how many occasions the conditions in which the animals were housed and cared for were found to be satisfactory and in line with the Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIt is not our practice to disclose this information in relation to individual establishments. For 1988, the last year for which figures are available, inspectors paid 7,354, mainly unannounced, visits to departments within the 375 places designated under the 181W Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures (1989; HC 107) was published in February this year. Establishments which were not already complying with it in every detail are expected to do so within a realistic time scale.