Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the 45 per cent increase in scientific procedures using horses from 2015 to 2025, set out in the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025; and what steps they are taking to replace the use of horses in science with human specific technologies.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
The increase in horse procedures between 2015 and 2025 should be viewed in context: while procedures rose by 45%, the number of horses used for the first time fell from 581 to 100. In 2025, around 69% of horse procedures were routine blood sampling for regulatory purposes and were assessed as mild severity. The Government is supporting the development, validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods, including human-specific technologies, through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, and requires animals to be used only where no validated alternative exists.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Vallance of Balham on 2 June (HL245), what assessment they have made of the role of legislation in driving scientific innovation to facilitate the replacement of animal experimentation.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
The Government has assessed that legislation provides an important baseline by requiring animals to be used in science only where no validated alternatives exist. Our immediate priority for driving innovation is therefore not further legislation, but accelerating the development, validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, backed by investment, regulatory reform and delivery oversight. We will keep the legislative framework under review, but progress must remain science-led and aligned with evidence, regulators and partners.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they did not include Herbie's Law on animal testing in the King's Speech; and what plans they have to introduce such legislation.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
The UK’s legal framework already limits the use of animals in science to cases where no validated alternatives exist. The Government’s alternative methods strategy sets out a vision to eliminate animal use in all but exceptional circumstances. However, science is unpredictable, so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for overall reduction but will publish timelines for specific actions.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that all regions of the United Kingdom will benefit from their proposed fast tracking of AI, given the different regulatory regimes in different parts of the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham
We have set out in the Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, our intention to deliver growth across the UK, working with local stakeholders to devise strategies suited to the UK’s regions. We are committed to working in partnership with regional and local authorities on AI Growth Zones. We are already working with devolved administrations and local authorities across the UK, and will continue to do so, to ensure all parts of the UK benefit from the investment in critical AI infrastructure.
Most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use through our existing expert regulators. In response to the Plan, the government will support regulators evaluate their AI capabilities and understand how these can be strengthened. It will also encourage pro-innovation approaches by regulators, with the new Regulatory Innovation Office playing an important role.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect (1) children, and (2) vulnerable adults, from online encouragement to pursue behaviours that may lead to eating disorders.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Under the Online Safety Bill, companies which run websites which are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to prevent their child users from encountering self-harm and eating disorder content. All in-scope services will also need to address any other content (“non-designated content”) which risks causing significant harm to an appreciable number of children.
The largest services will also need to enforce their own terms and conditions, which often prohibit such content, and offer all adult users tools to give them greater control over the content they see. These tools will apply to content which encourages, promotes, or provides instructions for an eating disorder or behaviours associated therewith, and will reduce the likelihood that users who do not wish to encounter this content will do so.
The Government has also committed to introduce a new communications offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, including eating disorders, where it meets the criminal threshold. Once introduced, companies will need to treat this content as illegal under the framework of the Bill, taking steps to remove this content once they become aware of it.