To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications there were for licences for animal experimentation in each year since 1997; how many licences were granted in each such year; and how many applications were rejected. (245066)

From the retained records available to us, full details for licences applied for and granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are only available from 2003 and these and the current year to date are shown in the following tables.

A feature of the regulatory regime under the 1986 Act is the discussion that often takes place at an early stage between applicants (or prospective applicants) and the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate. When serious deficiencies are discovered with the proposals during these early discussions with the local inspectors, this means that proposals unlikely to meet the Act’s stringent requirements are revised or withdrawn before formal refusal becomes necessary.

Furthermore, it is commonly the case that the authorities ultimately granted are not as originally set out by the applicants.