Written questions by Mayer.

With reference to data table 7.2 of her Department's statistics entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023: data tables, published on 11 September 2024, what legislation on medicinal products for human use required the use of dogs in regulatory procedures.

We are working with regulators to see how advances in technology can and will reduce use and phase out use in some areas.The explicit requirement for using animals in toxicology tests comes from section 50 (5) to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (as amended 2019 and 2020). Therefore, in most cases, new drugs are required to be tested in two animal species for public safety and efficacy purposes. There are rare exceptions where the medicine has no pharmacological effect in any species other than humans where this may not be applied.Although much research can be done without using animals, there are still purposes where use of live animals is essential, as the complexity of whole biological systems cannot be reliably replicated using validated alternative methodologies. Animal testing is therefore required by all global medicines regulators, including the UK’s Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). We are working with regulators to see how advances in technology can and will reduce use and phase out use in some areas.

With reference to data table 7.3 in the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023: data tables, published on 11 September 2024, what the legislation satisfying EU requirements was that required the 2581 procedures carried out on dogs.

With reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain 2023, Table 7.3, the legislative requirements for the 2581 procedures carried out on dogs which satisfy EU requirements were: 2263 procedures that satisfied medicinal products for human use legislation; 205 procedures to satisfy plant protection product legislation; 111 procedures to satisfy medicinal products and veterinary use and their residues legislation; and, 2 procedures to satisfy industrial chemicals legislation

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of sanctions applied by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit for incidents of non-compliance with licence conditions or with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The Animals in Science Regulator has published its compliance framework which explains how it identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies where non-compliance has been found to occur. The Regulator’s published compliance policy aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.All cases of non-compliance are thoroughly investigated, and the outcomes are published in ASRU’s annual report.

What steps her Department is taking to facilitate engagement with trade unions representing police, fire and border security staff.

The Home Office places significant importance on building industrial relations with representative workforce organisations for police, fire and border security. I can advise specifically of the following:PolicePolice staff are employed by each force and report into their respective Chief Constables. The Home Office meets with unions that represent police staff on a regular basis to understand the issues of importance to their members. Police officers are represented by their police staff associations and not trade unions, and the Home Office meets with these organisations on a regular basis. Fire and Rescue ServicesThe Home Office is proactively engaging with unions in relation to fire and rescue related policy and has conducted ministerial and official level engagement with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and other representative organisations. We have also created a Ministerial Advisory Group, with representation from senior leaders across the sector, including the FBU. Border Security StaffBorder security staff are employed by the Home Office. The department has long standing trade union recognition and engagement arrangements, which seek to ensure unions representing border security staff are appropriately engaged on matters impacting their members.

Pursuant to the Answers of 21 January 2025 to Questions 23569 and 23568 on Animal Experiments, what steps she is taking to ensure that more (a) establishments are audited, (b) audits are unannounced and (c) animals are not subjected to additional harms through failures to provide adequate care.

All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under ASPA in Great Britain, are subject to the full requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). This provides for a regulatory regimen of activities that protects animals in science including facilities audits by the Home Office to ensure compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.The Animals in Science Regulation Unit conducts audits to assure establishments’ compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA. Each establishment will receive an audit at least every three years if it does not hold special species and at least every year if it holds specially protected species.The Regulator is presently undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025.

With reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what steps her Department is taking to increase compliance with (a) legislation and (b) licence conditions with respect to the provision of care for animals.

The Regulator’s annual report details the range of ways in which it detects instances of non-compliance and seeks to drive greater compliance with the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and licence conditions.The Regulator conducts regular on-site audits. The published framework for audit is based on clear benchmarks and assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. The framework is publicly accessible at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits.To provide assurance of compliance with the Regulation, the Regulator provides clear and accessible operational guidance. All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals, under ASPA must comply with the Code of Practice which sets out mandatory standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals.

With reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, for what reasons has there been an increase in incidents involving failure to provide adequate care for animals.

The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. The total number of non-compliance cases reduced from 175 to 169 cases from 2022-23. Between these same years there was also a 48% reduction in adverse welfare cases.The reasons for each non-compliance involving failure to provide adequate care is provided in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report. The Regulator has not made any further assessment.

If she will make an assessment of trends in the level of violent crime during heatwaves in 2024.

There is a wide body of academic research pointing to associations between short-term increased temperatures and violent crime, but the Home Office has no plans to conduct any future specific research in this area in relation to heatwaves in 2024.

How many and what proportion of enquiries to Action Fraud were taken up in the latest period for which data is available.

Action Fraud is the national reporting point for fraud and cyber crime, operated by City of London Police who are the national policing lead for fraud. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) analyses reports from Action Fraud for key information an...

How many flooding incidents the fire and rescue services have responded to in England in each year since 2010.

The latest available data (year ending March 2024) on the number flooding incidents attended by Fire and rescue Services in England is published in FIRE0901, available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67165e5c9242eecc6c849b5e/fire-stati...

Whether her Department has had discussions with police forces on the provision of training on potential inks between domestic violence and violence against animals.

The Government will treat violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a national emergency. We have set out our ambition to halve VAWG in a decade using every available lever.Committing violence towards a pet or an assistance animal or using them to contro...

How her Department plans to allocate the funding to tackle shoplifting announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Shop theft is at a record high. This Government is taking strong action by removing the threshold for shop theft under £200 and making it a specific criminal offence for assaults on shopworkers.As announced in the Autumn Budget, and building on current Ho...

What steps her Department is taking to (a) regulate and (b) monitor (i) MBR Acres and (ii) other breeding facilities to ensure compliance with animal welfare standards.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides protections for animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Pract...

What recent steps her Department has taken to protect the welfare of beagles bred for sale to animal testing facilities.

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of a...

What estimate she has made of the number of beagles being bred for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of a...

What estimate she has made of number of beagles needed for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of a...

What discussions her Department has had with police forces on training on links between domestic violence and animal abuse.

This Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse in all its forms. Achieving the mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade will require a whole systems approach. Domestic abuse is a hidden crime and it is critical that all age...

If her Department will outline a planned timeline for the rollout of Young Futures hubs.

The Government is committed to rolling out a new Youth Futures programme, including a network of Young Futures Hubs which will bring together services to help improve the way young people can access the support they need.Officials from across a range of d...

What plans her Department has to support the availability of bleed control kits in (a) Central Bedfordshire and (b) the UK.

The use of bleed control kits is determined at the local level and the Government does not provide specific funding for bleed control kits.Where decisions have been made by police forces to deploy bleed control kits, these would have been done as part of their operational decision making, including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.

If her Department will publish a list of animal tests replaced by non-animal methods since 2010.

The use of animals in scientific procedures is only authorised by the Home Office Regulator where there is clear scientific benefit, to people, animals, or the environment, and only when all aspects of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been fulfilled.Licence applicants are required to robustly evidence their consideration of alternative methods. The Regulator reviews all licence applications and will only issue a licence once it is satisfied there are no practicable alternative methods.