Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the proposed funding by the European Commission for the development of new approach methodologies which do not involve the use of live animals in experiments.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to supporting alternatives to animals in science and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. We have reviewed the European Commission's (EC) Life Sciences Strategy and engaged with the European Medicines Agency on accelerating the science-led adoption of alternatives for a range of uses of animals in science, including chemicals, medicines and cosmetics. Government officials regularly attend international meetings to collaborate on best practice and consider approaches to reducing reliance on animal testing, including attending European Commission workshops on the EC roadmap to phasing out animal testing for chemicals.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55524 on Gaza: Genocide, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this policy on Government decision making.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Our policy remains as set out in the answer to which the Right Hon Gentleman refers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has taken steps to implement the recommendations of the report by Dr Frances Rawle entitled The role of review and regulatory approvals processes for animal research in supporting implementation of the 3Rs, published on 27 February 2023.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Rawle report identified opportunities to strengthen regulation and review processes supporting the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) in animal research, some of which are led by the Home Office. The Home Office has taken substantive steps to implement the recommendations, including:

• Licensing reform: The National Centre for the 3Rs are undertaking a review of the project licence application form to ensure robust and targeted assessment of 3Rs compliance at the application stage. The NC3Rs will provide recommendations to the Home Office.
• Audit enhancements: The Regulator has reviewed its approach to auditing licensed scientific establishments. When launched, audits will include a greater focus on assessing the effectiveness of Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs).

• Named persons and AWERBs: A commission has been issued to the Animals in Science Committee to seek advice on strengthening the roles of AWERBs and Named Information Officers, and to include a request for guidance on promoting the 3Rs beyond licence review.
• Increased 3Rs training and resources: the training package for inspectors has been enhanced with a greater emphasis on replacement methodologies.

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