Written questions by Norris.

With reference to her Department’s report Scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2024, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the increase in procedures involving sheep each year since 2021.

The Home Office regulates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with the robust protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Licences to test on animals are only granted where applicants comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement. Animals can only be used where there is no non-animal alternative, numbers are minimised, and where the most refined methods of testing are used to minimise harms.The majority of procedures involving sheep each year are conducted for basic research purposes. The trends in the number of animals and types of procedures carried out each year are influenced by a range of extraneous factors, for example requirements for research and testing which include products being brought to market.The Government has published the strategy, "Replacing animals in science, a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods". The strategy seeks to accelerate the development and validation of alternatives to animals in science in all but exceptional circumstances The strategy is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deleted-replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee on North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The commitments set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee are now making a difference to the service communities receive from their neighbourhood policing teams.As a result of the Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from enhanced police visibility and responsiveness.Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 from the £200 million neighborhood policing fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, Avon and Somerset Police’s projected growth over 2025/26 will be 70 Police Officers (FTE).

What recent progress her Department has made in tackling knife crime.

Halving knife crime is a central mission for this Government and since day one we have acted with urgency to turn the tide on this truly devastating crime. We have seen early signs of progress, with overall knife crime down for the first time in four years, but we need to supercharge these efforts.To date, we banned zombie knives in September 2024 and introduced a ban on ninja swords from 1 August 2025 - it is now illegal to sell or own these weapons. We have also implemented, “Ronan’s Law”, a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives.We are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.The Home Secretary and Policing Minister launched a Knife-Enabled Robbery (KER) Taskforce in October 2024 in the highest volume police force areas. The Taskforce met its ambition to halt the rise of KER in Taskforce areas (as a collective) within 6 months.The Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime in September 2024, which brings together campaign groups, bereaved families, people who have been impacted by knife crime and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives, to help us drive forward our plans and to hold us to account on progress.Over £66 million is available to all 43 police force areas to fund the 'Hotspot Action' programme in 2025/26.  This programme is a combination of increased high visibility foot patrols and funding of problem-oriented policing (POP) tactics.Tackling county lines is key to delivering our pledge to halve knife crime within the decade. That is why we are investing more than £42m this financial year in the County Lines Programme to target violent and exploitative drug dealing gangs driving knife crime and violence in communities. Since July 2024 the County Lines Programme has resulted in more than 1,200 deal lines closed, 2,000 arrests, 2,100 safeguarding referrals and provided specialist support to over 460 children and young people to enable them to exit their involvement in violence and county lines.We have introduced a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also going further in our response to wider criminal exploitation, introducing a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ and an offence to tackle coerced internal concealment. These three new offences will all work to tackle the interconnected and exploitative practices often used by criminal gangs, especially in county lines.Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime and violence are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.A further £14.3m in grant funding has been made available across all 43 local policing body areas to deliver the Serious Violence Duty.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the visibility of police in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 from the £200 million neighborhood policing fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, Avon and Somerset Police’s projected growth over 2025/26 will be 70 Police Officers (FTE).The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will mean every community has named, contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities.Additionally, forces will conduct increased patrols in town centres and other hotspots, based on local demand and intelligence, tackling key local issues, giving enhanced visibility and presence.

What recent steps her Department has taken to help prevent violence against retail workers.

Under the previous Government, violence and abuse towards retail workers increased to unacceptable levels. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work and we have long championed specific protections for retail workers.In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. The Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June.Given the violence and abuse associated with shop theft, as part of the Bill we will also scrap the effective immunity – introduced by the previous government - to shop theft of goods of and under £200, making clear any shop theft is illegal.We are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the policing bodies tackle retail crime, including organised criminal gangs.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to key reforms to ensure people feel safe on our streets and in their communities, including reducing shop theft.We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed balanced youth experience scheme on young people in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The details of any scheme will be subject to negotiation. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped and time-limited, and have been clear that it will need to be in line with our existing youth mobility schemes. Any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

Whether she has made an estimate of the number of people who will take part in the Youth Experience Scheme in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The details of any scheme will be subject to negotiation. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped and time-limited, and have been clear that it will need to be in line with our existing youth mobility schemes. Any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

Whether she plans to review the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to accelerate the transition to animal-free (a) research and (b) testing methodology.

This Government will soon publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. It will set out how we can build on our support by creating a research and innovation system that replaces animal testing with alternative methods wherever possible.The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (ASPA) does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. Section 20B of the ASPA already requires the development and validation of alternative strategies.The Government already invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches.

How many project licences for animal testing have been approved in the last five years; and what proportion of those included conditions requiring the use of New Approach Methodologies where available.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 does not allow testing on animals where there is a validated non-animal alternative available that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought.The number of project licences granted are published in the Regulator’s Annual Report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports. The numbers for 2020 to 2023 are below. The Annual Report for 2024 will be published later this year.YearNumber of project licences granted2020478202149720224902023460

If she will implement service standards for decisions for visa applications.

Visa processing times are published on the GOV.UK website. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/visa-processing-times Applications made outside the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-processing-times-applications-outside-the-ukApplications made in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-processing-times-applications-inside-the-uk UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in communities in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency.

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.​The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.These officers will be equipped with tougher powers, such as the Respect Order, which was introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on ASB and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles.The Home Office is also providing £66.3m funding this financial year (2025-26) to police forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime and ASB. Avon and Somerset Police will receive £1,641,063 of this funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33380 on Animal Experiments, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the concordance range; whether she has made an assessment of the potential limitations of the paper; and whether she has considered evidence on the predictive value of non-animal methods.

The paper in question is published in a reputable scientific journal and will have undergone rigorous peer review before publication.The Government invests £10m annually in The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The NC3Rs places significant investment into programmes and projects specifically for developing non-animal methods.In March 2023 the NC3Rs made its biggest award to date in a single investment (£1.6M) to develop a ‘Virtual Dog’. The project aims to exploit advances in computational approaches and machine learning to ultimately replace their use as a second species in drug development.This government has made a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2025 to Question 24409 on Animal Experiments: Dogs, what the evidential basis is for stating that tests of procedures on dogs predict the safety of conducting the equivalent procedures on humans with up to 96% accuracy.

The evidential base is from an international consortium of large pharmaceutical companies, and published in the journal: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/toxicology-and-applied-pharmacology. The specific paper provides an industry-wide translational database of animal to human outcomes and examines the concordance between humans and dogs, non-human primates and mice.The full citation is: Monticello TM, Jones TW, Dambach DM, Potter DM, Bolt MW, Liu M, Keller DA, Hart TK, Kadambi VJ. Current nonclinical testing paradigm enables safe entry to First-In-Human clinical trials: The IQ consortium nonclinical to clinical translational database. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2017 Nov 1;334:100-109. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2017.09.006. Epub 2017 Sep 8. PMID: 28893587.

With reference to her Department's report entitled Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2023, published on 11 September 2024, what type of tests comprised the procedures conducted on dogs; and what steps she is taking to (a) reduce and (b) replace the use of dogs for such tests.

69% of procedures of dogs in research are for the safety testing of potential new medicines to protect human health. The legal requirements for these tests are largely harmonised globally to ensure international acceptability of testing and prevent unnecessary duplication. Tests of procedures on dogs predict the safety of conducting the equivalent procedures on humans with up to 96% accuracy.31% of procedures of dogs in research are for basic and translational research, primarily to discover and develop products to address human and animal diseases.Research using dogs has been instrumental in the development of medications for use in treatments for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and genetic disorders.In March 2023 The National Centre for the 3Rs made its biggest award to date in a single investment (£1.6M) to develop a ‘Virtual Dog’. The project aims to exploit advances in computational approaches and machine learning to ultimately replace their use in chronic toxicity studies.Where dogs have to be used in science, the Regulator assures that the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) are fully applied in all granted licences. These establishments are then subject to rigorous audit by Inspectors for compliance purposes.