Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
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 (a) help ensure the maintenance of animal welfare standards at licensed facilities during periods of extreme heat, (b) monitor compliance and (c) respond to any identified concerns.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Licensed establishments are responsible for the welfare of animals in their care at all times, including during extreme weather. Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), all such establishments must comply with legal requirements and standards set out in the Home Office’s published Operational Guidance and Code of Practice.
These documents require establishments to have contingency plans for temperature extremes to ensure animal welfare. Establishment licence holders must ensure sufficient trained staff are in place to maintain high standards of care and facility management.
Daily checks by competent personnel are mandated under Standard Condition 4 to monitor animal welfare and environmental conditions, with prompt action required to address any issues. Standard Condition 18 requires that any breaches or potential breaches of licence conditions be reported to the Secretary of State.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) monitors compliance through regular audits, including both announced and unannounced visits, to assess animal welfare and adherence to ASPA.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the average waiting time for asylum decisions; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the average time.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The average time taken to process a substantive decision is not currently available from published data, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement summary tables’.
Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.
We are restoring order to the asylum system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operate swiftly.
As a result, asylum decision making increased by 52% in the last three months of 2024.
The Home Office continues to take action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system.