Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the levels of the use of dogs at the MBR Acres facility in Cambridgeshire; and whether she plans to take steps to end the breeding and supply of dogs for scientific testing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pharmaceutical legislation requires that, before a medicine can be approved for testing in humans, it is tested in a rodent and non-rodent species under international guidelines. This may include dogs as an appropriate model. The number of Beagles bred is largely determined by the forecast needs of the pharmaceutical industry that require testing of medicines. The number of scientific procedures using animals, including dogs, is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#statistics.
The Home Office regulator assures compliance of all work licensed with the rigorous requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. For every research proposal, Home Office inspectors assure that animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.
This Government has made a commitment to the long-term goal of phasing out animal testing in science and research in all but exceptional circumstances. In November 2025, the Government published Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation, and uptake of alternative methods, backed by £75 million in funding. This includes plans to establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods and a preclinical translational models hub, alongside specific commitments to reduce the number of dogs used in scientific procedures.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand access to naloxone in communities.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Naloxone forms a key part of the Government’s plan to reduce drug related deaths, and we are committed to expanding access to naloxone in communities across the country. The Government has already amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone by enabling more services and professionals to supply naloxone without needing a prescription.
In addition to the changes made in 2024, we recently published a United Kingdom wide public consultation which closed on 9 March, to seek views on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone. We are analysing the responses to this consultation, and we will be setting out the next steps soon.
One of the legislative proposals we have consulted on is to create a new route of supply by enabling publicly accessible naloxone for emergency use using a locked box model. This overdose prevention method could enable more local areas to have naloxone available at any time in high-risk public spaces such as high streets and near to nightlife venues, without needing a prescription or in person supply. We have also consulted on making further legislative changes to allow hostels, day centres, and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness to supply naloxone without a prescription.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure the routine freezing of suitable brain tumour tissue samples to improve patient access to genomic testing, personalised treatments and research.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department continues to engage with NHS England and wider stakeholders on improving access to high-quality pathology and genomics services, including those relevant to brain tumour patients.
NHS England and the Department will work with professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to review tissue retention guidance. This work includes guidance on the consent of fresh-tissue freezing for all cancers, including for brain tumour patients. The Genomics Medicine Service has developed a Genomics Centre of Excellence for brain cancers to ensure access to whole genome sequencing (WGS) for brain tumour patients.
NHS England has made several wider commitments to address variation in the access and provision of pathology services, particularly histopathology and genomics across England, and has issued national guidance on sample handling, including for WGS of solid tumours. This guidance is intended to support consistent approaches to maintaining DNA quality, and support improved consistency and access to precision diagnostics across England, to improve personalised treatments and further support research.
In addition, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the fresh freezing of tissue samples have already been developed across pathology networks in England. It is, however, the responsibility of individual pathology services to maintain their own SOPs for the fresh freezing of tissue samples. These protocols outline local capabilities and practices, including access and storage capacity.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the environmental and animal welfare impacts of the breeding, release and shooting of game birds, and whether she plans to introduce a ban on these practices.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has no plans to ban the breeding, release or shooting of gamebirds. However, gamebird shooting can have trade-offs with environmental, economic, and animal health and welfare outcomes and we want to ensure the highest standards of practice are consistently applied. To achieve this, Defra will work with stakeholders to explore wider measures, and this will begin with evidence gathering. Any proposed changes will be subject to public consultation.