§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he received the report of the Expert Group on Efficient Regulation concerning the licensing of animal research in the UK; when he formally responded to the report; and what steps the Government have taken to improve the efficiency of the licensing process. [60719]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthWe received a copy of the report of the Expert Group on Efficient Regulation on 8 October 2001 and a formal response was sent to the Chairman of the Expert Group on 5 November 2001. This noted that the report did not suggest any changes in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and advised that we would look carefully at its recommendations regarding the 283W administration of the 1986 Act. A further response will be sent when we have completed consideration of those recommendations.
Separately to our consideration of the Expert Group report, we have taken a number of recent steps to improve the efficiency of the licensing of scientific procedures under the 1986 Act, mainly arising from discussions conducted in 2000–2001 under the auspices of the Prime Minister's Pharmaceutical Industry Competitiveness Task Force. A review of the ethical review process was completed in November 2001 and best practice for more efficient working of the process is now being widely disseminated around establishments. New guidance has also been issued on completing project licence application forms, and industry has been given information on errors commonly found in licence application forms, which should help to reduce the number of applications submitted with such errors in future, and therefore reduce delays.
Most importantly, extra resources are starting to be devoted to the assessment and processing of licence applications. These include development of a new computer system, which is expected to enable electronic processing of all licence applications, in due course. There will also, as announced in March 2001, be a significant increase in the size of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate from 21 inspectors to 33 by March 2004. We have also improved the relevant section of the Home Office website to provide easier access for applicants and licence holders to reference documents and best practice material. The new website will go live shortly.