§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many times Home Office inspectors have visited the Babraham Agricultural Research Centre, Cambridgeshire, during the past two years; and when last.
§ Lord BELSTEADNine times, the last visit being on 30th October 1979.
§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the present annual cost of the Babraham Agricultural Research Centre; and on which departmental Votes this is borne.
§ Baroness YOUNGThe net expenditure at the Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, was £2.7 million in the financial year 1978–79. Of this £0.56 million was provided, through the Agricultural Research Council, for work commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The remainder was funded from the Department of Education and Science's grant-in-aid to the Agricultural Research Council.
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§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will circulate with the Official Report a summary of the research work now in progress at the Babraham Agricultural Research Centre together with the aims and purposes for which the use of living animals is justified at public expense.
§ Baroness YOUNGThe report for the years 1976 and 1977 of the Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, which was published by the Agricultural Research Council in June 1978, gives a comprehensive account of the Institute's work and its purposes, and I do not think that I could usefully add to this. A further biennial report, for 1978 and 1979, is due to be published next year.
§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Who is accountable to Parliament for the nature and conduct of research activities at Babraham Agricultural Research Centre.
§ Baroness YOUNGThe Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, is a research institute of the Agricultural Research Council, for which my right honourable and learned friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is responsible to Parliament.
§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will appoint an independent group of three suitably qualified persons to investigate and report upon activities at the Babraham Agricultural Research Centre which have received much unfavourable publicity in recent months.
§ Baroness YOUNGThe Govermnent are satisfied that the activities which I believe the noble Lord has in mind are justified and do not call for such an inquiry. As regards possible cruelty to animals, the activities are subject to the oversight of the Home Office inspectorate appointed under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876. Inspectors have visited the Institute, without prior notice, and their reports on it have been satisfactory.
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§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to allay public concern at the nature and purpose of some usages of living animals at the Babraham Agricultural Research Centre which have been disclosed by the Star newspaper in recent months.
§ Baroness YOUNGThe Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council convened a Press conference on 5th July 1979 to discuss the research work at the Council's Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham. Representatives of many newspapers and journals and of the other media attended. The Director of the Institute replied to the allegations made in theDaily Star in a letter published in that paper on 19th September 1979, in which he referred readers to sources of accurate information.
§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any reports of research being undertaken at Babraham Agricultural Research Centre have been published during the past two years; and if so, in what form, and at what dates, they appeared.
§ Baroness YOUNGIt is the policy of the institute to publish reports of all the scientific work undertaken there. Original research papers and review articles are published in recognised scientific journals. Since 1st January 1978, 488 papers have been published. The Agricultural Research Council is sending the noble Lord a list of these publications. In addition, a variety of articles has appeared in the farming and national Press; and presentations of aspects of the work of the institute have been made in sound and television broadcasts. The institute also publishes a biennial report.