Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Hinchliff Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

May I gently say that the question is about the Mayor of London and police closures? We have allowed a little bit of leeway. Let us see how we go from here and try to stick to the questions before us.

[Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Ind)]

2. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the approval under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 between April and June 2025 of the use of 1,656,930 animals over the next five years.

[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

The Department takes its responsibilities under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act extremely seriously. Approvals for the use of animals in science are given only when no alternatives exist and where the scientific benefit justifies the potential harm. The Government will soon publish a strategy on how we will work towards phasing out the use of animals in science.

[Chris Hinchliff]

More than 1.6 million animals have been approved for testing over the next five years, including through licences for invasive brain research on monkeys and for looking at different methods of killing animals in laboratories. Labour’s manifesto committed to phasing out animal testing. Can the Minister reassure me that the non-animal methods strategy will commit to Herbie’s law and provide a clear framework for phasing out animal experiments within the next decade?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Member. Herbie’s law is a proposed legislative framework to phase out animal experiments, specifically in medical research, in the UK by 2035. The Government’s commitment is clear: we will partner with scientists, industry and civil society to work towards a long-term goal of phasing out the use of animals in scientific research and testing. I will ensure that he receives a letter from the relevant Minister.