Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in each year since 2005.
Answered by John Hayes
Since 2005, there have been no prosecutions, and therefore no convictions, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and Girls has made on implementing recommendation 11 of the HMIC report Everyone's business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse into policing on domestic violence; and when she expects the further multi-agency inspection referred to in that report to take place.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
Recommendation 11 of the HMIC report relates to a multi-agency inspection on domestic abuse. The Home Secretary wrote to Ministerial colleagues seeking support to multi-agency inspections in January.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary will continue to inspect the police response to domestic abuse as part of their annual all-force PEEL (Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy) inspection programme.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Centre for the 3Rs was offered additional funding for the next financial year; and whether that body accepted that funding.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) primarily receives Government funding through the Department for Business Innovation and Skills via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The NC3Rs is currently undergoing its quinquennial review to which the Home Office provided evidence recognising the exceptional achievements of the Centre. As part of the outcome of the review, decisions regarding core funding for the NC3Rs will be made by the MRC and BBSRC, the core funders. The current core funding level for 2015/16 from the MRC and BBSRC is £7.62 million.
The main meeting of the Review Panel took place on 19 March 2015 and the Review Panel’s recommendations will be considered by the MRC and BBSRC. The outcome of the review will be known by the summer.
The Home Office allocated funding of £250,000 to the NC3Rs for 2014/15. Funding for 2015/16 from the Home Office is yet to be allocated.
The Government has a continuing commitment to safeguard animal welfare and advance the use of the 3Rs principles (replacement, refinement and reduction) in research and development. The UK remains at the forefront of global work to develop alternatives to animal testing.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will undertake a public inquiry into the response of state agencies to victims of domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The Government has no plans to conduct an inquiry into domestic abuse. The cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan sets out a comprehensive approach to improve the response of all agencies to domestic abuse.
The Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to review the police response to domestic abuse in September 2013. In response to HMIC’s report published in March 2014, which exposed significant failings, the Home Secretary is driving a package of measures to improve the police response. This includes the establishment of a National Oversight Group to drive delivery against all of HMIC’s recommendations. The Home Secretary also wrote to all Chief Constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place. All forces have submitted plans which are now being reviewed by HMIC. In addition, the Inter-Ministerial Group on VAWG is securing cross-government support to establish a multi-agency inspection into domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary entitled Everyone's business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse, what steps she is taking further to inspect the performance of wider agencies that respond to victims of domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The Government has no plans to conduct an inquiry into domestic abuse. The cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan sets out a comprehensive approach to improve the response of all agencies to domestic abuse.
The Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to review the police response to domestic abuse in September 2013. In response to HMIC’s report published in March 2014, which exposed significant failings, the Home Secretary is driving a package of measures to improve the police response. This includes the establishment of a National Oversight Group to drive delivery against all of HMIC’s recommendations. The Home Secretary also wrote to all Chief Constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place. All forces have submitted plans which are now being reviewed by HMIC. In addition, the Inter-Ministerial Group on VAWG is securing cross-government support to establish a multi-agency inspection into domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animals were used in (a) between two and five, (b) between six and 10, (c) between 11 and 15, (d) between 16 and 19 and (e) more than 20 scientific procedures in 2013; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for increases in the number of animals being used in more than one scientific procedure.
Answered by Norman Baker
The Home Office does not hold the information asked for, as it does not form part of the regular data collection.
The Secretary of State must give consent to the re-use of an animal in scientific procedures and specifically authorise the re-use in the project licence. Details of the specific conditions are in Section 5:19 of the Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Home Office Inspectors will assess all project licence applications and this will include a rigorous harm / benefit analysis to ensure that the likely benefits of the work justify the expected harms that will be experienced by the animals. Work will only be authorised if it is for one of the permissible purposes outlined in section 5.3 (C) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and if the harms have been minimised.
During the lifetime of the licence the harms and benefits are continually reviewed by the Inspectorate as part of the Inspection regime and also by the licence holder and other named officials within the establishment. This is to ensure that harms are always minimised whilst delivering benefits.
The majority of re-use is where animals have been subject to mild procedures such as dosing and sampling procedures in the testing of novel treatments, or blood collection for diagnostic purposes or for further laboratory tests not involving the use of live animals.
Asked by: Jim Dowd (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made towards ending the testing of household products and ingredients on animals; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Norman Baker
We have made a commitment to ban the testing of household products on animals.
Although superficially straightforward, the details have not been easy to
resolve. Any solution has to be legally viable since we cannot ban testing
which may be required under UK or EU law.
The key issue is around ingredients. I am looking to develop a solution that
is workable and sensible, but does not have a chain of unforeseen circumstances.
We are looking to publish progress on the commitment later in the year.