Written questions by Jones.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to give wildlife crime notifiable status.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.There are no plans currently to make all wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to police can be investigated as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

With reference to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 59099 on Animal Experiments, when she expects the review to conclude.

We intend for a position to be publicised later in 2025.

What recent discussions her Department has had with licence holders on reporting the number of animals bred for scientific purposes and not used in procedures at their establishment.

The Home Office is presently reviewing the collection and publication of additional statistics on animals that were bred but not used in scientific procedures. This position has been communicated to all stakeholder groups, including the life science sector.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency of the publication of statistics on the number of animals that are bred for use in scientific procedures but not used.

The Home Office is presently reviewing the collection and publication of additional statistics on animals that were bred but not used in scientific procedures.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum claims made on the grounds of religious persecution from (a) Nigeria, (b) Eritrea and c) Pakistan between December 2001 and December 2024; and what steps she is taken to ensure claims are processed (i) fairly and (ii) efficiently.

We do not publish the number of asylum claims that were granted based on religious persecution. This information is not recorded in a reportable format. Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset on GOV.UK at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially, and they receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Lethal Dose 50 test on animals.

The UK continues to lead the way in seeking the international adoption of improved test methods that replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in scientific procedures.Some authorised medicines in the UK include quality control tests which require the use of animals, conducted to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of specific medicines. These tests account for the LD50 cases still conducted.Within the UK framework, regulators follow the principles of the 3Rs - to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in tests. This is a legal requirement for all work conducted. However, it is not presently possible to replace all of the existing animal tests with non-animal replacements.The Government 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.Through the forthcoming alternatives strategy, the Government will seek to accelerate the validation of alternative methods and their uptake for regulatory decision making.

With reference to Table 7.3 : Experimental procedures by species of animal: regulatory use by origin of legislative requirement, Great Britain 2014 to 2023 of her Department’s Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2023, published on 11 September 2024, which UK legislative requirements were intended to be satisfied by the 12 procedures carried out on beagles.

With reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain 2023, Table 7.3, the 12 procedures carried out on beagles were to satisfy legislative requirements on the testing of medicinal products for human use.