Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the auditing process in place for animal testing facilities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under ASPA in Great Britain, are subject to the full requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).
To provide assurance of compliance with the Regulations, the Regulator provides clear and accessible guidance and conducts regular on-site audits.
The published framework for audit is based on clear benchmarks and assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. Both announced and unannounced site visits are undertaken within a risk- based framework to assure compliance and inspect the welfare, health, and environment of animals at any establishment.
Through a current regulatory reform programme, the Regulator is presently recruiting to have more Inspectors for audit related activities.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of levels of welfare of employees at animal testing facilities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Licenced establishments are responsible for the welfare of employees at animal testing facilities.
The Regulator has published extensive guidance for the regulated community on the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The published guidance includes information on the operation of named roles whose responsibilities include ensuring that those dealing with animals are adequately educated, trained and supervised until they are competent and ensuring that those dealing with animals have access to the information they need.
The Home Office holds regular, scheduled, meetings with stakeholders from the regulated community to discuss their concerns.