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Home Office

Answer

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the openness of the (a) regulation and (b) licensing procedures in relation to animal experimentation. [165893] Caroline Flint: For some time now the Government has taken the view that greater openness and transparency regarding the regulation and use of animals in scientific procedures is desirable, providing it does not jeopardise the safety of individual scientists and their establishments, or their legitimate commercial and intellectual interests. We have undertaken to review all statutory bars to the disclosure of information as part of our commitment to freedom of information, including section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the so-called `confidentiality clause'. Section 24 makes the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information relating to the use of animals in scientific procedures by Home Office Ministers and officials, members of the Animal Procedures Committee, and others appointed for specific purposes under the Act, a criminal offence. I hope to announce the outcome of the review of section 24 shortly. Separately, in our response to the report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures, published in January 2003 (Cm 5729), we announced plans to publish summary information relating to project licences issued under the 1986 Act as part of the Home Office publication scheme under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Home Office officials are working out the practical arrangements with licensees now and we plan to publish the first summaries in the autumn 2004. At the same time, we have concluded that there would be value in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate publishing an annual report on its work. The Inspectorate's first annual report will also be published in the autumn of 2004. In addition, the Inspectorate has an active outreach and education programme to inform stakeholders about the regulatory system and the Home Office web-site includes a range of material relating to the implementation of the 1986 Act.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

420 c930-1W; 165893

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Animals Animal experiments Licensing Regulation Research

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk