This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Animal Experimentation at Cardiff University'.

BSC/10/14 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CARDIFF UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL 
STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD ON MONDAY 4th OCTOBER 2010 AT 4.00PM 
242 
MINUTES 
The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th May 2010 (BSC/09/58) were 
confirmed as a correct record with one amendment and signed by the 
Chair. 
243 
 
MATTERS ARISING  
243.1 
Matters arising S38 Health and
Safety
[vide Minute 226.2] 
NOTED that scanner had been commissioned successfully since the 
previous meeting and that plans for reconfiguration of the area had 
been sent to the Director of PAFRS. 
243.2 
Matters arisingS38
arrier Area improvements [vide Minute 226.7] 
Health
and
 
NOTED that no progress was known to have been made
Safety

243.3 
Matters arising – environmental alarms testingS38 Health and Safety vide 
Minute 226.8.3/4] 
.1 
NOTED that alarms were being monitored and tested, and that 
a 15-minute response time was being achieved; 
RESOLVED 
.2 
that ESTAT will arrange for alarm tests to be carried out at 
three-monthly intervals.  
243.4 
Matters arising – Universities’ Legal Briefing [vide Minute 228.2] 
.1 
NOTED that the security situation surrounding such a document 
was currently fluid and under review; 
RESOLVED 
.2 
that the document be brought to a subsequent meeting once 
security issues had been settled. 
243.5 
Matters arising – Biosecurity S38 Health and Safety [vide Minute 230.2] 
 
NOTED that the ban on animals entering the new facilities still applied 
pending successful treatment of the endoparasite infection. 
243.6 
Matters arising – Decontamination proposals [vide Minute 231.4] 
 
NOTED that ESTAT were looking at a quotation of £20k for the work 
from an experienced operator, and that this would be a one-off 
exercise only. 
243.7 
Matters arising – Environmental control problems in a barrier area [vide 
Minute 233.5] 
NOTED that the problem had been diagnosed as being caused by a 
sticking valve, and that it would not cause the serious type of result 
experienced elsewhere in the University from a valve problem. 


BSC/10/14 
243.8 
Matters arising – Refurbishment of S38 Health and
Safety
facility [vide Minute 
234.5] 
 
NOTED that a meeting had been held on 27 September at which a 
proposal for a reconfiguration of the entrance arrangements to include 
changing facilities had been agreed in principle. 
243.9 
Matters arising – Project Licence application [vide Minutes 238.4&5] 
 
NOTED that discussions had taken place between the NVS and the 
applicant, but that no subsequent application had been forthcoming. 
244 
ITEMS FROM THE CHAIR  
244.1 
Committee membership  
 
NOTED  
.1  
that both the non-NACWO representative and the graduate 
students’ representative had resigned from the Committee, in 
both cases because promotions had rendered them ineligible 
for their positions; 
.2  
that nominations for new representatives in these positions 
would be sought; 
RESOLVED 
.3  
that the two representatives be thanked for their contributions 
to the Committee and to the ethical review process. 
244.2   
3Rs reports 
 
NOTED that items included in the regular 3Rs reports demonstrated the 
breadth of endeavour put into developing improvements to animal 
welfare across the University by project licence holders, and that the 
reports were welcomed by the Committee. 
245 
ITEMS FROM THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER 
Received paper BSC/10/02 “Summary of FoI Disclosures”. 
Visit to facilities 
245.1 
NOTED that since the last meeting, the Certificate Holder had made a 
tour of all non-barrier facilities and had been impressed by the high 
standards of care that were apparent. 
245.2 
Requests under the Freedom of Information Act 
 
NOTED 
.1  
that five requests had been made in 2010, one from a 
journalist and the remainder from animal rights 
activist/campaigners. All so far had been responded to within 
the allowed 20 days, and that a further response was in 
preparation; 


BSC/10/14 
.2 
that there is a legal obligation to respond, even if no 
information can be given, and that the University has 
requested clarification from the requestor where necessary; 
.3  
that whilst the University acknowledges its duty under the Act 
to explain what it does to the public, it cannot supply such 
information that might endanger its staff or students; 
.4  
that one request had been refused by the University, and that 
an appeal had subsequently been lodged by the requestor. 
246 
REPORT FROM THE BIOLOGICAL STANDARDS OFFICER 
Received papers BSC/10/03 “Licensing Report” and oral reports. 
246.1 
Visits by the Home Office Inspector  
 
NOTED  
.1  
that there had been four visits from the inspector since the 
last meeting;  
.2  
that the inspector had met with a number of Project Licence 
holders and applicants, and had inspected most of the facilities 
over the visits; 
.3  
that the inspector had telephoned the Certificate Holder 
following one visit on the matter of drugs storage; 
.4 
that during one inspection, the inspector had asked for two 
procedure rooms within S38 Health and Safety
to be temporarily 
de-designated after rainwater ingress;  
.5 
that the inspector had seen the new, larger pigeon 
accommodation in use, and had welcomed the development. 
246.2 
Changes to the Certificate of Designation 
NOTED 
.1  
that the designation of a surgery ante-room had been amended 
to allow procedures for a specific protocol to be carried out 
there;. 
.2 
 that two procedure rooms within a user school had been 
temporarily de-designated after rainwater ingress;  
.3  
that changes in the JBIOS staff structure have required two 
new NACWOs to be added to the certificate. 
 
 
 
 
 


BSC/10/14 
246.3     
Licensing Report 
NOTED 
.1  
that since the last meeting, the Certificate Holder’s Advisory 
Group had recommended three applications for amendments to 
existing project licences and three applications for 
continuation project licences; 
.2  
that a simple administrative change to a project licence that 
includes a species of special concern had been dealt with by 
Chair’s action to avoid undue delay. 
 
247 
 
REPORT FROM THE NAMED VETERINARY SURGEON 
Received paper BSC/10/04 “NVS Report for BSC”. 
 
 
NOTED    
247.1 
that JBIOS staff were repeating the decontamination exercise against 
parvo-virus in one room atS38 Health and Safety facility, under the NVS’s 
guidance, and that access restrictions still apply; 
247.2 
that embryo importation is difficult from the senders’ end in many 
cases, as they do not have access to the necessary technology; 
247.3 
that there was a demand for a quarantine facility in the University, 
although it was acknowledged that the financial costs would be likely 
to be high; 
 
RESOLVED 
247.4 
that S38 Health and Safety users would produce a report for the Committee 
on the need for a quarantine facility. 
248 
REPORT FROM THE OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR OF JBIOS FACILITIES 
Received paper BSC/10/05 from the Operational Director of JBIOS 
Facilities.  
NOTED 
248.1 
that progress continued to be made in developing the JBIOS staffing 
structure, with several appointments being made, and that staff 
development continued; 
248.2 
that the construction of hosing facilities for large cages at S38 Health and Safety
S38 Health and Safety had still not been completed, but that quotations for the 
work would be received within two weeks by ESTAT. The urgent need 
for these facilities was acknowledged by ESTAT, and an undertaking to 
complete the work by Christmas 2010 had been made; 
248.3 
that refurbishment of the olderS38 Health and facility still needed to be 
progressed; 
Safety
248.4 
S38 Health and Safety
248.5 
that reaccreditation of the licensee training courses had been achieved 
following a positive audit report. A response to some points from the 
audit was needed, and this could be made informally; 


BSC/10/14 
248.6 
that with the planned introduction of a bird module to the training 
courses, a restructuring would take place so that the mouse would be 
the central default species and training on other species would be 
available as “bolt-ons”; 
 
RESOLVED 
248.7 
that the accreditation audit report for licensee training be included in 
the next annual report on education and training to be brought to the 
Committee. 
249 
REPORT FROM THE USERS’ GROUP 
 
Received an oral report from the Deputy Chair of the Users’ Group.  
NOTED 
249.1 
that the Chair of the Users’ Group was drawing up a survey of users to 
test concerns on possible anomalies in maintenance charging; 
249.2 
that the series of SOPs aimed at minimizing bio-contamination at the 
S38 Health and Safety
were almost completed, and it had been decided 
that all animals to enter the new facilities would be rederived into that 
area; 
 
RESOLVED 
249.3 
that the ODF liaise with the Chair of the Users’ Group to ensure that 
the choice of questions on the survey would yield maximum useful 
information. 
S38 Health and Safety
250 
REPORT FROM
BARRIER FACILITIES 
Received paper BSC/10/06 from the barrier representative. 
 
NOTED 
250.1 
that the facility was still operating below optimum staffing levels 
owing to maternity and sick leave; 
250.2 
that space constraints were unlikely to be a problem owing to the 
slowing down of recruitment in the current economic climate; 
250.3 
that a local Health and Safety inspection had been carried out in 
anticipation of the HSE’s genetic modification inspection in December. 
251 
CAPITAL MATTERS AND ESTATES REPORT 
Received an oral report from the Director of Estates Development 
(Architectural) and an oral report from the Director of Estates 
Development (Engineering)  
NOTED 
251.1   
that progress had been made on the new procedure rooms in the 
S38 Health and Safety
with a target for completion in November 2010; 
251.2 
that the humidification system S38 Health and Safety
facility had 
not been replaced over the Summer as intended, but the work would 
be put out to tender in late October; 


BSC/10/14 
251.3 
that the seven planning conditions for work on the S38 Health and Safety
had been discharged and that completion was expected in December 
2010; 
251.4 
that a BEMS connection for the new JBIOS administrative offices would 
be possible; 
251.5 
that the planning application for the new building in the                  
area would be submitted during October 2010, with work on site 
anticipated in early 2011. 
252 
ANNUAL FINANCE & INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT 
Received paper BSC/10/07. 
NOTED 
252.1 
that the University’s new return to work strategy (SAM) was involved a 
significant additional administration burden. It was, however, intended 
to be of long-term benefit in improving overall attendance, and had 
been shown to achieve a beneficial organizational effect where 
implemented across Wales;  
252.2 
that a current initiative on public engagement would contribute to 
addressing the JIAU audit report’s recommendation that JBIOS submit 
an overview of its operations annually to key audiences;  
252.3 
that Understanding Animal Research had been approached to run one 
or more workshops on-site on public engagement, and that there was 
likely to be a good deal of interest in this from scientists and others 
who could contribute. 
253 
LICENSED USE OF ANIMALS IN UK & CU IN 2009 
Received paper BSC/10/08  
NOTED 
253.1 
that although the UK numbers of procedures had gone down slightly in 
2009, those for the University had continued to rise, and that this was 
in line with other research-intensive universities; 
253.2 
that the relationship between the numbers of animals used on 
individual projects and output in terms of peer-reviewed scientific 
publications was of interest to the Committee, but that the estimated 
figures used in previous years could be unreliable; 
 
RESOLVED 
253.3 
that the BSO look into the possibility of a reliable method of 
calculating this relationship. 
 
 
254 
THE COMMITTEE’S WORK OVER THE LAST SESSION MEASURED 
AGAINST ITS TERMS OF REFERENCE 
Received paper BSC/10/09  


BSC/10/14 
254.1 
NOTED that all areas of the terms of reference had been covered by 
the Committee over the last session, but that management and 
compliance appeared to have been covered more fully than more 
directly ethical issues; 
RESOLVED 
254.2 
that the BSO investigate possible ways to focus more directly on ethical 
issues. 
255 
ARRIVE GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING ANIMAL RESEARCH  
Received paper BSC/10/10. 
NOTED 
255.1 
that these guidelines were a potentially valuable tool to help 
researchers reinforce the message that animal-based work is carried 
out humanely and professionally; 
255.2 
that journals have limited space and that it was generally assumed that 
a statement that the work in a paper had been approved by local 
ethical review and Home Office licensing would indicate that these 
standards had been applied. 
 
RESOLVED 
255.3 
that the paper be circulated to all Project Licence holders and that 
their opinions on the need for such guidance be sought. 
256         PROJECT LICENCE APPLICATIONS 
Received paper BSC/10/11  “comparison of adenovirus subtypes for 
vaccination”. 
NOTED 
256.1 
that the new licence form does not require a deputy, and that the 
choice of suitability for a second contact on the form should be made 
on a case-by-case basis;  
256.2 
that the use of the term “sentience” was badly applied in the abstract 
and could be misleading; 
256.3 
that the mice would potentially be subject to procedures for up to 18 
months, and that the applicant should be aware that this should be 
taken into account in the later stages of the protocol in such cases;  
RESOLVED 
256.4 
that the application be recommended for submission, subject to 
revision of the abstract wording, and that the applicant be apprised of 
the age consideration in some animals under procedure. 
 
257 
3Rs REPORT 
 
Received and NOTED paper BSC/10/12. 


BSC/10/14 
258 
UAR GUIDE TO EU8869-10 
 
Received and NOTED paper BSC/10/13.  
259 
DATE OF NEXT MEETING 
6th December 2010 at 4.00pm 


BSC/10/14 
FILE COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CARDIFF UNIVERSITY 
BIOLOGICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD ON 4 OCTOBER 2010 AT 4.00PM 
 
Signed………………………………………(Chair)   
 
9X