But the court heard that after reviewing the licence to Cambridge for the three programmes, and some of the other 4,000 testing licences granted in England and Wales, the chief inspector of animals gave a clean bill of health to all establishments.
The already fierce debate over delivery drones heated up on Tuesday when Amazon – which has threatened to withdraw drone development from the US because of strict regulations – attacked the Federal Aviation Authority FAAA) for putting America's role at the heart of the state of the art technology at risk by delaying the approval of testing licences.
The green paper is also expected to consider options for the replacement of the £145.50 licence fee, with a subscription system, household tax, or means tested licence fee all options up for discussion, the paper said.
Scientists said they hope to obtain a clinical trial licence to test the technology in patients within two years.
Much of the UK's fracking activity is expected to take place in the region, which is estimated to hold 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, while test drilling licences have already been granted in Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
Even so, lawmakers in most countries have been slow to repeal the laws on driving tests and licences, and in most places the rules still call for at least one sober "driver" sitting in a front seat.
Possible sites for the extraction of shale gas have been identified across the north of England, with test drilling licences granted in Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
He added that the figures nonetheless justified further testing in the licence area.
Separate sources at Android device makers have said that licence testing is a time-consuming process which can take months, especially for smaller companies.
He writes about all the nothings he felt the planet pivoted on – girl crushes, driver's licence tests, in-style kicks.
