HC Deb 21 June 1990 vol 174 cc662-3W
Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recommendations were made to his Department to curtail or end the work of Professor Feldberg at the National Institute of Medical Research.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

None, before the publicity which was given to Professor Feldberg's work in May this year.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department specifically gave its approval for the use by Professor Feldberg of an anglepoise lamp as a heat source on experiments involving rabbits.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Authority was given for a lamp to be used as a heat source, but the type of lamp was not specified.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions over the past two years the Home Office inspectorate visited Mill Hill laboratories; and what were the dates of such visits.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Twelve visits were made to this establishment in 1988, 11 in 1989 and five this year. Many of these visits were announced. The dates were as follows: in 1988, 13 January, 10 June, 22 June, 11 July, 19 July, 24 August, 5 September, 26 September, 20 October, 7 November, 28 November and 19 December; in 1989, 6 February, 22 February, 21 March, 21 April, 8 June, 21 July, 3 August, 23 August, 18 October, 28 November and 14 December; in 1990, 10 January, 8 February, 29 March, 9 April and 3 May.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether any complaints or observations were received from people within the National Institute of Medical Research regarding Professor Wilhelm Feldberg's state of competence while he held a licence to perform animal experiments;

(2) how many animals by species were used by Professor Wilhelm Feldberg at the National Institute for Medical Research, London in (a) 1988, (b) 1989 and (c) the current year.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 19 June 1990]: Professor Feldberg is a very distinguished scientist who for over 50 years held licences issued under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 and subsequently the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Over this time, there is no record of any complaints or observations from within the establishment having been made about the professor's state of competence. It is not our practice to provide details of the numbers or species of animals used by individual licence holders.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to ensure that the holder of the certificate of designation within the National Institute of Medical Research ensured that all checks and monitoring were undertaken.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Inspectors routinely seek interviews with the holders of certificates of designation, or their representatives, to discuss their visits and any issues which may have arisen. A number of such interviews have taken place with the director of the National Institute of Medical Research.