§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to meet the European Commission's target of a 50 per cent. reduction in animals used in experiments by the year 2000.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe Government fund research into alternatives to the use of animals in scientific work, and welcome the contribution which the European centre for validation of alternative methods—ECVAM—will make at a European level to the identification and validation of alternatives. The number of procedures carried out in the United Kingdom has been declining, and this process, combined with the search for alternatives, should make a significant contribution to meeting the European Commission target.