Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12256, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes in maintaining high standards of animal welfare.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and the Code of Practice provide the statutory framework for protecting the welfare of animals bred, supplied or used for scientific purposes. Licensed establishments must comply with the Act, their licence conditions and the Code’s mandatory standards for animal care and accommodation. Compliance is assessed through regulatory oversight, including announced and unannounced audits, with powers to vary, suspend or revoke licences where appropriate.

The updated Code, published in March 2026, clarified the mandatory standards and removed references that were no longer current. These mandatory requirements are distinct from non-statutory advice, which remains available separately to support establishments in meeting and exceeding those standards.

Under the statutory principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, licence holders must use scientifically satisfactory non-animal methods wherever possible, use no more animals than necessary and select methods that minimise harm, updating their practices as suitable new methods become available. In addition to these protections, the Government’s Replacing Animals in Science strategy aims to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods.

Maintaining high standards also requires arrangements that can respond to improvements in welfare practice. The Animals in Science Committee’s report, Strengthening leading practice in the animals in science sector, recommends a framework through which sufficiently evidenced improvements in animal welfare practice can become the expected standard. The Government’s response, published on 6 October 2026, sets out how it intends to take forward those recommendations.