§ Dame Janet FookesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licence applications were referred to an external assessor by the inspectorate under section 9(1) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, in the years 1988, 1989 and 1990.
§ Mrs. RumboldStatistics on the referral of project licence applications to external assessors are not collected centrally. Applications are referred for formal external assessment on a case-by-case basis where advice is required on specialised aspects of projects, although the number of such referrals is unlikely to be large. In addition, referrals under section 9(1) are made to the Animal Procedures Committee.