Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish more detailed inspection reports for establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including MBR Acres, with fewer redactions where this would not compromise security or personal data.

The Government has no plans to introduce the routine publication of audit or inspection reports for licensed establishments. Requests for information, including information relating to inspections and audits, are considered on a case-by-case basis. Decisions are made in accordance with the statutory framework governing information obtained under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, data protection legislation and other applicable legal obligations. This protects the effective operation of the UKs rigorous and robust regulatory regime.

The Government is committed to transparency and publishes a range of information about animals in science regulation, including: annual statistics, non-technical summaries of each and every licensed project, an annual regulator’s report that includes the outcomes of all non-compliance investigations, Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act and the Code of Practice. The Regulator also regularly publishes technical advice notes. Further, reports of the Animals in Science Committee are routinely published and this Government has committed to publication of additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures.