Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with regard to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, how the number of unannounced audits in 2024 compares with previous years; and whether she she is taking to help increase the number of unannounced audits in future years.

The numbers of unannounced audits conducted are reported in the published Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) Annual Reports.

The Annual Report for 2024 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-report-2024

ASRU has planned to increase the number of unannounced audits as part of its work to strength regulatory oversight. ASRU has also increased its number of inspectors, enabling a greater volume of risk-based audits across the system.

Announced and unannounced audits play an important role in providing regulatory assurance. Audit numbers are only one indicator of the level of regulatory oversight; the quality, depth and scope of audits are central to assessing compliance effectively.