THE use of animals in research is highly emotive. So when people apply for
Home Office permission and licences for such research, the information they
provide is protected by Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act
1986. Rightly, it has been government policy not to reveal the names of
establishments or individuals holding licences, or details of their work, unless
they expressly agree to it. However, the government now has a commitment to the
freedom of information and an equal one to protect individual scientists and
their research institutions from the actions of animal rights extremists.
Section 24 is under review, so I asked Home Secretary David Blunkett how this
was progressing.
Blunkett said the Home Office is considering how best these commitments can
be reconciled but it is unlikely to decide on whether Section 24 should be
repealed or amended until later this year. He went on to say the Home Office had
set up a new ministerial committee to coordinate action against animal rights
extremism. It has also set up a new police unit within the National Crime Squad,
which specifically targets leading organisers of violent animal rights protests.
A consultation paper has set out the government鈥檚 strategy for tackling animal
rights extremism, and the Home Office will issue a publication on protecting
people, property and business from it, said Blunkett.
They鈥檙e crucial decisions, and making them is a delicate business.
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WHEN major departmental shake-ups occur in Whitehall, worthwhile initiatives
can be buried. Britain now has a new Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA), forged from the remains of the old Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food, and the Department for the Environment, Transport and the
Regions.
Michael Meacher, the environment minister, is very upbeat about the draft
soil strategy published for consultation. It was a joint product of MAFF and the
DETR and reflected their major policy interests in the subject. 鈥淵ou can be
assured that I shall press for the soil strategy to be actively developed and
pursued. The consultation period has closed, and we are analysing the responses
before deciding how to take the strategy forward.鈥� DEFRA, Meacher adds, will
also continue handling the variety of research projects that came under the
aegis of the two former departments. It is also drawing up technical guidelines
for tackling Britain鈥檚 legacy of contaminated land.
I know from many sources that ministers and civil servants see soil strategy
as vital.
NOT everyone trusts today鈥檚 mad rush for an all-electronic nirvana. For
example, many courts of law still refuse to accept electronic signatures, so
even when documents are sent electronically the paperwork may still have to
follow behind. It鈥檚 vexing for devotees of online business and banking.
In March, the Department of Trade and Industry issued a consultation document
on the parts of the European electronic signatures directive that were not
implemented by the Electronic Communications Act 2000. The DTI received only 54
responses and it feels further discussion is needed. So Douglas Alexander, the
minister for e-commerce, is to issue a summary of the consultation, a note of
the conclusions drawn by his expert advisers and a draft of the regulations. If
anyone still has something to say, now is the time to approach the DTI.
It is clear, though, that there is a much wider problem. My learned friends
tell me that our electronic communications systems are now so technically
sophisticated and developing so fast that it is difficult for them to keep up
with the pace of complaints coming before the courts. Any young graduate with
degrees in computer engineering and law should be able to command an
astronomical salary.