Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been refused in each year since 2015.

One project licence application under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was refused in 2024. No applications were refused in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 or 2026 to date.

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit does not hold the requested data for 2015–2020. Application-tracking functionality was introduced to the electronic licensing system in 2021.

Formal refusal numbers alone do not capture the scrutiny applied throughout the licensing process.

The Government publishes extensive guidance on applying for project licences. Applications undergo internal review by the establishment’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body before assessment by Home Office inspectors. Inspectors assess whether the likely benefits justify the harms to animals and whether opportunities to replace animal use, reduce the number of animals used and minimise suffering have been addressed. A project licence is granted only where these requirements are met.

Applications may be returned for clarification or amendment and reassessed. Applicants may also amend or withdraw an application in response to regulatory feedback. Scrutiny therefore takes place throughout the assessment process, not just at the point of a formal decision to grant or refuse a licence