§ Lord Northfieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether publicity material from the Dr. Hawden Trust for Humane Research and the Anti-Vivisection Society was the sole "stimulus material" on experiments on living animals that was supplied this summer to students sitting their GCSE examination in England Syllabus C by the Southern Examining Group; and, if so, why material from such bodies as the Research Defence Society and the Animals in Medicine Research Centre (AMRIC) was not similarly supplied.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Education and Science (Baroness Hooper)The independent GCSE examining groups are responsible for GCSE syllabuses and examination material. I understand from the Southern Examining Group that the stimulus material referred to related to one option in a section on animals within the SEG English Syllabus C. The group accepts that this material might be regarded as unbalanced, and will be considering changes for future years. The Government look to the examining groups to avoid bias in all its aspects, in line with the national criteria for the GCSE.