§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 April 2000,Official Report, column 380W, on animal experiments, if he will provide a breakdown of the total yearly Government expenditure on research into alternative methods that do not involve animals, stating (a) which departments (i) carry out and (ii) sponsor such research, (b) how much is spent by each and (c) the type of animal research for which alternatives are sought; and if he will make a statement. [138991]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFurther to my previous answer of 17 April 2000,Official Report, column 379W, I repeat that most of the work done on alternatives is neither done by the Government nor with Government money. The budget the Home Office makes available to the Animal Procedures Committee for research into alternatives has, none the less, risen to £265,000 for 2000–01. By "alternatives", we are referring to the development and promotion of alternatives which (1) replace animal use, (2) reduce the number of animals used or (3) refine the procedures involved to minimise suffering (3Rs).
This money is not the only money spent by Government Departments on alternatives. For example, the Health and Safety Executive, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council have, in the past year, been very active in taking initiatives in this area.
Last year, the Home Office asked the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health, the Scottish Office, the Welsh Office and the Northern Ireland Office for an indication of the level of each Department's funding of alternatives. It was very difficult for these Departments to specify exactly how much they spent on alternative research because:
150Wthey could not identify all such work that is sponsored, which would involve extensive reviews of thousands of different projects; andmany programmes of work which are not specifically intended for developing alternatives do, nevertheless, result in that development, by design or chance.The amount spent does not relate to annual set allocations of funds, as provided for the Animal Procedures Committee. The Home Office was, however, provided with an estimated figure, totalling over £2 million, for the yearly expenditure across Government for research into alternatives.
I work closely with other Government Departments to ensure the rigorous application of the 3Rs. Additionally, the cross-Whitehall concordat on data sharing should enable Government Departments to reduce the duplication of tests on animals.
Mr. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with EU ministers regarding the welfare of animals in the EU, with particular regard to tests carried out on animals; and if he will make a statement. [139407]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Home Office plays an active part in meetings of the European Union National Competent Authorities responsible for the implementation of Directive 86/609/EEC, which relates to the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. We take a lead in formulating European policies, standards and targets for animal care and use that platform to promote a wider influence outside Europe.
The United Kingdom Government will continue to support the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) through contributions to the European Union. It is their task to commission, monitor and co-ordinate research into alternatives and to develop the processes of validationthat is, the assessment of alternative methods to see whether they are reliable and whether they produce a level of information similar to the animal based tests they are to replace.