Notices by the General Board

Review of the governance of scientific research using animals

In the Lent Term 2014 the General Board approved the appointment of an expert panel to undertake a review of the governance and operation of the University’s facilities for animal research. The members of the panel were: Dr Jon Richmond, Ex-Chief Inspector, Home Office; Dr David Anderson, Ex-Superintendent, Home Office; Mr Adrian Deeny, Establishment Licence Holder, University College London; and Mr John Dalton, Independent Facilitator. The Board have now received the panel’s report which, in accordance with the principles of the Concordat on the Declaration of Openness in Animal Research, is available at http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/research-at-cambridge/animal-research. The Board were pleased to note that the panel found no concerns about regulatory compliance, but had made a series of recommendations which were principally intended to unify the operation and strengthen the strategic oversight of those facilities. The Board have approved the panel’s recommendations, in principle, and appointed an implementation group to take forward the detailed implementation of them, including proposing the necessary changes to Ordinances, in consultation with the Councils of the Schools of the Biological Sciences and Clinical Medicine.