Category: Speeches

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what scientific purposes she has licensed procedures on animals that were likely to cause severe suffering since 2010; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of animals experiencing severe suffering in scientific procedures.

Norman Baker

The information asked for is not held centrally and could only be obtained at
disproportionate cost.

The Government only authorises procedures on animals after rigorous checks.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 there is a statutory
requirement for scrutiny by, in the first instance, the Animal Welfare Ethical
Review Body at the Establishment where the work will be performed, and then an
assessment is made by the Home Office Inspectorate. In addition, projects are
referred to the Animals in Science Committee for scrutiny where they propose
the use of non-human primates in severe protocols and other projects that ministers
consider require further consideration.

One of the key factors in the assessment of licence applications is the
harm-benefit analysis, which has been part of our assessment process since
1986. The parameters considered in this analysis are described in Appendix I of
the Operational Guidance to the 1986 Act. A harm-benefit analysis determines
whether the proposed harms to the animals are justified by the likely benefits to be
delivered from the project. Inspectors give advice on minimising harms during
their assessment of project licence applications. Licensees have a legal
responsibility to ensure that work is undertaken on animals in the least severe
manner possible whilst delivering their scientific objectives. This year we
are undertaking a review of the harm-benefit analysis process, with advice from
the Animals in Science Committee, to determine if there are further refinements
we can make to the process.

I am committed to working to reduce the number of animals used in scientific
procedures. The Coalition Commitment delivery plan "Working to reduce the use
of animals in research" was published in February 2014. In particular, the Home
Office Inspectorate is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals on methods of refinement of the most severe models to avoid
or reduce animal suffering. This has included careful consideration of models
of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, seizures, rheumatoid arthritis
and sepsis. Inspectors are actively promulgating the recommendations from each
of these reports.

In addition, the Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and
reporting actual severity, as required by the transposed European Directive
from 2013. From data collected we will provide clarity on the burden of harm
and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement
methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.

It is imporant to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a
small percentage of total procedures.