Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many project licences for animal testing have been approved in the last five years; and what proportion of those included conditions requiring the use of New Approach Methodologies where available.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative available that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought.
The number of project licences granted are published in the Regulator’s Annual Report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports. The numbers for 2020 to 2023 are below. The Annual Report for 2024 will be published later this year.
Year | Number of project licences granted |
2020 | 478 |
2021 | 497 |
2022 | 490 |
2023 | 460 |
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to accelerate the transition to animal-free (a) research and (b) testing methodology.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government will soon publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. It will set out how we can build on our support by creating a research and innovation system that replaces animal testing with alternative methods wherever possible.
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA) does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. Section 20B of the ASPA already requires the development and validation of alternative strategies.
The Government already invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the Health and Safety Executive's report entitled Agency Opinion on the Annex 15 Dossier on the Proposal for a Restriction: Lead in Ammunition, published on 13 December 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has received the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) final opinion on a proposed UK REACH Restriction on lead in ammunition and we are assessing their proposals. Given the need to work through the detail of HSE’s proposal a decision is expected in due course.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to apprenticeships in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across the country, including in North East Somerset and Hanham, and support the industrial strategy.
From August, the department will be introducing seven new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, including construction and the built environment, digital, and health and social care. We are also reducing the apprenticeship minimum duration to eight months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August. These flexibilities will help more people learn new high quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country.
To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18 years old, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 years old who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. We will also provide £2,000 payments to employers for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to 25 when they earn less than £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on tackling water pollution in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) inspected over 50% of the Wessex Water assets in this Constituency between April 2024 and March 2025. Inspections are prioritised according to environmental sensitivity, such as sites that impact bathing waters, conservation designations or where data shows high spill rates. The EA will more than double its water company inspections this year.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve training opportunities in (a) construction and (b) healthcare for people in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, providing greater flexibility for employers and learners.
From August, the offer will include new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships, helping more individuals gain high quality skills. Construction and social care will be among the first sectors to benefit, with the introduction of four new apprenticeship standards, as well as shorter apprenticeships, including the level 2 healthcare support worker and level 2 smart meter installer. These measures, backed by a record £3 billion English apprenticeship budget for 2025/26, will open up opportunities for careers the country vitally needs to prosper.
Recently, the government launched the 'Next Generation' campaign to inspire more pupils to pursue careers in high-demand sectors like construction and healthcare. This consists of targeted communications, school engagement, and promotion of technical education pathways.
In March, the government also announced the £625 million skills package for the construction sector. These measures are designed to raise awareness, boost access and improve the quality of training available, ensuring that more young people are equipped with the skills the construction sector urgently needs.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to phase out the LD50 toxicity test as an initial step to end animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year.
Significant progress has been made on validating alternative methods, including the possibility of replacing mice by in vitro suitable cell cultures in LD50-type testing methods, and relevant regulatory quality standards and testing requirements have been revised accordingly for these specific medicines.
The implementation of new tests for existing products must protect and prioritise human safety, often requiring extensive validation. It is not presently possible to replace all of the existing animal tests with in vitro non-animal replacements.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for projects to generate geothermal energy from former coal mines that have been flooded.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that mine water heat shows good potential as a renewable source for heat networks. The technology was eligible for support through the Heat Network Investment Project from 2018 and is currently eligible for funding from the Green Heat Network Funding https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-heat-network-fund-ghnf. Mine water schemes at Gateshead and Seaham Garden Village have been supported through these schemes. Feasibility assessments have also been supported by Heat Network Delivery Unit Funding in other locations.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether estates managed by the Government Property Agency took part in No Mow May.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Property Agency (GPA) does not manage participation of No Mow May centrally. However, estates are encouraged to take part in such initiatives if operationally feasible on a site by site basis. As such several sites took part across the GPA estate.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support access to public transport for care leavers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government recognises the importance of supporting care leavers and is keeping public transport accessible and affordable for them with the £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London and investment of over £1 billion to improve bus service reliability and frequency. Care leavers can also access the 16-25 Railcard, which provides 1/3 off the cost of rail travel for young passengers. We continue to support Strategic Authorities and Local Authorities who use their local transport funding, including the Local Authority Bus Grant, to provide targeted support for care leavers, such as through offering discounted fares.