§ Dr. LadymanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences to conduct animal experiments were granted to(a) commercial organisations and (b) non-profit organisations; and what the mean time was between the application for a licence being submitted and its being granted, in each of the last 10 years. [130936]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTable 19 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 1998, and the corresponding tables in the equivalent publications for 1989 to 1997, provide a breakdown of the total number of project licence holders and scientific procedures by type of designated establishment in 1998. Information on the number of project licences granted during the year is not collated separately by type of establishment.
The Home Office does not hold historical data on the time taken to process project licence applications. However, figures collected for the early part of this year show an average processing time for a project licence of just under 40 working days from receipt of the application to issue of the licence.
The Home Office is committed to processing project licence applications as expeditiously as possible, but no targets have been, or indeed can be, set for the time needed to consider any particular application. This depends greatly on the nature of the application. A well-drafted application for a replacement licence to continue existing work or for a minor amendment to an existing licence may be assessed quickly. One for a new study could take a considerable time to examine—indeed, some may take months where complex scientific issues are involved. There are usually negotiations between the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate and the applicant to ensure that the 3Rs (the Refinement of scientific procedures; Reduction in numbers of animals used; and their Replacement wherever possible) are rigorously applied in every case. Applicants may also take time preparing supplementary or revised material for consideration. The situation is further complicated when 457W advice is needed from experts outside the Home Office, or if the application needs to be referred to the Animal Procedures Committee.
I am aware of the concerns among scientists about the length of time that appears to be taken in some cases from the initial conception of a project to the issue of a project licence, including the requirements of the ethical review process that need to be met locally before the application reaches the Home Office. I have, therefore, asked my officials to work with the Department of Trade and Industry, to review the operation of these arrangements to ensure that the processes are as efficient and effective as possible without compromising animal welfare.
§ Mr. FitzpatrickTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the figures relating to scientific procedures performed on living animals in Great Britain in 1999. [132680]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information requested will be published as a Command Paper Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1999 on 17 August.
In the meantime, I can report that:
the number of procedures started in 1999 was about 2.66 million, almost exactly the same as in 1998. 83 per cent. of these were performed using mice and rats;the number of animals used in 1999 was 2.57 million about 24,000 fewer than in 1998; andthe number of procedures involving the use of genetically modified animals rose by 63,000 to 511,000 in 1999, but this was almost exactly offset by a decrease to 1,894,000 in the use of animals with a normal genetic constitution.