HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc195-6W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the minister responsible for animal experimentation takes to secure advice on these matters from sources independent of officials. [148849]

Caroline Flint

Under sections 9(1) and 18(2) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, members of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate provide the Secretary of State with expert technical advice about whether and on what terms applications for licences and certificates should be granted, and on their review, amendment or variation. The Inspectorate is the only source of such advice considered necessary in dealing with most applications for project licences, personal licences and certificates of designation. The Inspectorate has no powers to grant, refuse, revoke or vary licences or certificates. That responsibility lies with the Secretary of State.

Where issues arising from project licence applications prompt the Secretary of State to seek advice from other experts, the 1986 Act makes provision, under section 9(1), for the appointment of independent assessors. This option is seldom used, but may be exercised in a variety of circumstances. For example, advice may be sought when the issues raised require specific, expert knowledge not available within the Inspectorate. It may also be appropriate when there is debate within the scientific or welfare communities, or between the Inspectorate and an applicant, as to the scientific validity of the hypothesis or methodology; the scope for further refinement of the programme of work; the benefits likely to arise from a programme of work; or the welfare costs to the animals.

Section 12 of the Act defines the actions to be taken by the Secretary of State when it is proposed to refuse an application for authorities under the Act, or to vary or revoke existing authorities other than with the consent of the holder of the licence or certificate. In such circumstances, the Act allows the appointment of a person of suitable legal qualification to consider any representations against such proposals and to report the outcome to the Secretary of State.

Sections 19 and 20 of the 1986 Act establish the Animal Procedures Committee, an independent body created to advise the Secretary of State on matters concerned with the Act and the Secretary of State's powers under it. The Committee may consider and advise on matters of its own choosing, as well as those that are referred to it by the Secretary of State. In its considerations, the Committee must have regard both to the legitimate requirements of science and industry and to the protection of animals against avoidable suffering and unnecessary use in scientific procedures. The Committee regularly publishes general advice to Ministers, most recently in its reports on the use of non-human primates and on the cost benefit assessment, and also offers additional advice on the limited range of project licence applications referred to it.

The Secretary of State is not bound by the advice received from the Inspectorate, assessors, persons appointed to consider representations, or the Animal Procedures Committee, in respect of licence applications. Such advice only informs the Secretary of State's decision.

More generally, as the Home Office Minister responsible for the implementation of the 1986 Act, I regularly meet representatives of the scientific community and animal welfare and animal protection groups, as well as Ministerial colleagues in other Government Departments and Members of Parliament, to discuss policy relating to the use of animals in scientific procedures. I also receive correspondence and a variety of reports and written representations from these and other sources on the use of animals in scientific procedures.