Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to project 4 in the non-technical summaries of project licences granted January-March 2026 that require a retrospective assessment under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, what assessment they have made of the scientific validity of implanting devices into the skulls of non-human primates while they play video games.

This project, among other research, sits within the Government’s broader strategy to support research that advances the understanding of major public health challenges. The expected scientific benefits of this work include improving understanding of how brain cells, together with brain chemicals, support key mental processes including learning, memory, planning and decision-making. In the longer term, this evidence base is expected to aid the development of therapies for neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions, such as depression, addiction and dementia.

All project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) are assessed by medically or veterinary qualified inspectors within the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU). Under ASPA, no project can be granted without a harm-benefit analysis, where an ASRU inspector makes a rigorous assessment of the scientific rationale for the programme of work, and must assess that the harms of the proposed project are justified by the likely benefits. Inspectors assess the appropriateness of the scientific methods being proposed for achieving the stated benefits and must be confident that these benefits are likely to be realised.

The project must also demonstrate full application of the legal requirements of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). This means that animal use cannot be approved if a practicable nonanimal alternative method exists, the number of any animals used must be minimised, and the most refined methods must be used for animal testing to minimise harms.