§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were under the Animal Scientific Procedures Act 1986 in 1999; and if he will make a statement. [113601]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThere were no prosecutions during 1999.
Updated advice on infringements, offences and penalties will be provided in the extended Home Office Guidance on the Operation of the 1986 Act, which I plan to bring to the House shortly. Sections 22, 23 and 24 of the Act set out the offences and penalties. Infringements vary in gravity from major offences to minor technical breaches of licence and certificate conditions and a range of sanctions is available to the Secretary of State from which the measures best suited to preventing a recurrence can be selected.
At an early stage in the investigation of a suspected breach of the controls, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate review whether a criminal offence has been committed and whether its gravity is likely to justify referral for prosecution. This depends on its origins, scale and consequences for animal suffering. Thus, deliberate infringements will be viewed more seriously than those due to negligence, ignorance, confusion or adherence to inappropriate instructions from those in authority over the alleged guilty party; repeated failures will generally be viewed more seriously than single incidents; and any unnecessary animal suffering will significantly increase the gravity of any infringement.