Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of (a) adding heavy goods vehicle drivers to the shortage occupation list and (b) issuing increased numbers of temporary visas to heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Heavy Goods Vehicle drivers do not qualify for Skilled Worker visas therefore cannot be added to the Shortage Occupation List.
There is no plan to introduce a new temporary visa for this sector to address recruitment problems. Some Trade Unions have recently agreed the issues affecting the haulage sector would not be solved by offering temporary visas and should focus on making pay and conditions more attractive for the domestic labour market.
While the Home Office regularly engages with other Government Departments and stakeholders on departmental business, the Department for Transport is leading the Government’s work on what can be done to support the sector.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for the continuation of refugee resettlement after the conclusion of the Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK will continue to welcome refugees through resettlement following the completion of the VPRS. This commitment, alongside a future firm and fair asylum system, will ensure we continue to offer safe and legal routes to the UK for vulnerable refugees in need of protection. Our focus will remain on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) animals and (b) species of animals were used for the production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies in research and testing under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019.
Answered by Kevin Foster
With reference to the reports entitled Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2018 and 2019, published in October 2019 and July 2020 respectively, data on the use of animals in the production of antibodies, whether monoclonal or polyclonal, is collected from establishments. However, the use of animals for antibody production falls within a range of purposes in the published data. Therefore, it is not possible to extract from the data (a) the number or (b) species of animals used for the production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies in research and testing in 2018 or 2019.
All applications that include animals used for the production of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies are subject to a harm-benefit analysis, undertaken by the Home Office Inspectorate, to ensure any harm which may be caused to the animals is justified by the expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment. The rigorous regulatory system in GB requires that no production of antibodies takes place if there is a validated non-animal alternative that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. Project licence proposals for research on animals for which there is no non-animal alternative for the production of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies must comply fully with the principles of the 3Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many privately-owned e-scooters have been seized or confiscated by the police for illegal use on the road or pavement, by police force.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics annually on police use of powers (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales) including fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences, however information on the numbers of vehicles removed or seized by the police is not collected.
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for individual police Chief Officers in conjunction with local policing plans.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to introduce information on cyclists in speed awareness courses.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
National Speed Awareness courses are offered under the police controlled and operated National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS). The content and running of these courses are, therefore, a matter for chief officers of police and the course providers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been (a) granted and (b) amended to allow for research and tests on animals into the SARS-CoV-2 virus and covid-19.
Answered by James Brokenshire
There have been 11 project licences granted and 29 project licences amended under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to authorise work relating to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 research.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2020 to Question 41398 on Animal Experiments: Inspections, whether (a) planned and (b) unannounced on-site inspection visits by the ASRU Inspectorate have resumed following the updated guidance on social distancing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
No, the on-site activities of the inspection programme have not fully resumed.
Inspection activities to assess compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act are being continued remotely, for example by telephone and email. Requirements for planned on-site inspection visits to assess compliance are considered on a case-by-case basis and will be planned in accordance with the updated guidance.
On-site inspection visits will be resumed in due course in accordance with the updated guidance.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) investigations and inspections conducted by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) Inspectorate continue uninterrupted during the covid-19 crisis, (b) any staff shortages pertaining to requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are reported so that the ASRU Inspectorate is able to assess the risk of non-compliance and (c) cases of non-compliance due to staff shortages are described and publicly reported.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Establishments are responsible for the welfare of animals in their care. The Home Office has published guidance on Business Continuity Planning for Establishments, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-animals-scientific-procedures-act-1986#business-continuity-planning-guidance.
The Animals in Science Regulation has currently suspended on-site inspection visits. Inspection activities to assess compliance are being continued remotely, for example by telephone and email. There may be occasions where on-site inspection visits need to be considered. Any such inspections will be planned on a case by case basis in accordance with the Government measures. Inspectors have specifically inspected establishments for preparedness for the care and protection of animals during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Cases of non-compliance continue to be investigated. Identified cases will be reported in the relevant Annual Report. Previous Annual Reports can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward plans for permanent funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a single budget in time for the next Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In line with other government funded bodies, decisions about Home Office funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2021 will be taken as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Animals in Science Regulation Unit is taking to encourage the replacement of the use of animals in scientific procedures.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The steps that the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) takes to encourage the replacement of the use of animals in scientific procedures are part of a wider strategy on the rigorous application of the 3Rs principles – replacement, reduction and refinement.
Procedures on animals are only authorised after an assessment process, which is undertaken by the Home Office Inspectorate. All project licence applicants are required to describe and justify why available non-animal alternative methodologies could not be used to achieve their scientific objectives.
In 2018 ASRU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) to support the uptake of 3Rs approaches. The NC3Rs leads the discovery and application of new technologies and approaches to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in scientific procedures. ASRU supports the NC3Rs drive to accelerate the development and use of models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals.