Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s publication entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2024, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the increase in the number of procedures conducted for LD50 and LC50 tests from 2023 to 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Lethal Dose 50 and Lethal Concentration 50 procedures are subject to strict regulations under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This legal framework requires that animals are only ever used in science where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit.
Some authorised medicines in the UK include quality control tests which require the use of animals, conducted to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of specific medicines. These tests account for the LD50 cases still conducted.
The requirement for LD50 and LC50 tests is set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations set by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
This Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy by the end of this year to support the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s publication entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2024, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the increase in the number of (a) marmosets and tamarins and (b) rhesus monkeys used for the first time in scientific procedures from 2023 to 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The requirements for regulatory testing are set by regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK.
The use of non-human primates continues to represent a very small proportion of the total number of procedures carried out in Great Britain, accounting for approximately 0.1% of all experimental procedures in 2024. The total number of procedures using non-human primates, and the total number of non-human primates used decreased in 2024 compared to 2023. Non-human primates are required by regulatory authorities for use in their assessments of whether potential medicines and other therapeutics are to be considered safe for human use. Non-human primates are also used for the safety assessment of novel pharmaceuticals in cases where they are the most appropriate and scientifically justified species.
Non-human primates are classed as specially protected species, and their use is permitted only under exceptional circumstances.
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 ensures that all use of non-human primates in the UK is strictly regulated and licences that authorise testing on non-human primates are only granted where there is robust scientific justification and no viable alternative. Each project licence application is subject to a rigorous harm-benefit analysis, and the welfare of the animals is a primary consideration at every stage.
This Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy by the end of this year to support the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s publication entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2024, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the increase in the number of procedures involving (a) fish, (b) rats and (c) horses from 2023 to 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In 2024, there were 2.64 million regulated scientific procedures carried out in Great Britain involving living animals. This is a decrease of 1% on the previous year, and the lowest number since 2001.
The trends in the number of animals and types of procedures carried out each year are influenced by a range of extraneous factors, for example requirements for research and testing which include products being brought to market.
The Home Office is responsible for regulating under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Data trends and requirements will be assessed by the authorities whom have particular responsibilities and requirements for the use of animals of science.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy will include specific measures to support children in deepest poverty.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty and the Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the autumn. The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. This publication will also set out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.
The government has already taken action to support children in deepest poverty, for example a new £1 billion package to reform crisis support, including funding to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry outside of term time.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy will include targets on child poverty reduction.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.
The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of children that were not accessing their entitlement to free childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The latest January 2025 statistics relating to funded early education and childcare were published on 11 July 2025. These are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025.
Statistics at constituency level are not readily available. Figures on the number of children registered for the families receiving additional support, universal and working parent entitlement in Salford can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/26af6f8f-ac9d-4ccb-94e3-08de11382822.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were in receipt of funded childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The latest January 2025 statistics relating to funded early education and childcare were published on 11 July 2025. These are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025.
Statistics at constituency level are not readily available. Figures on the number of children registered for the families receiving additional support, universal and working parent entitlement in Salford can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/26af6f8f-ac9d-4ccb-94e3-08de11382822.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life.
We do not retain data on school-based nursery places available in the Worsley and Eccles constituency. However, according to the department’s latest Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey for the reporting year 2024, there were 52,200 registered nursery class childcare places available in the North West region of England. The median hourly parent-paid fee for childcare in the region was £5.75 per hour for children under two, £5.60 per hour for two year-olds, and £5.50 per hour for three and four year-olds.
We do not have an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average annual cost of childcare for parents in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life.
We do not retain data on school-based nursery places available in the Worsley and Eccles constituency. However, according to the department’s latest Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey for the reporting year 2024, there were 52,200 registered nursery class childcare places available in the North West region of England. The median hourly parent-paid fee for childcare in the region was £5.75 per hour for children under two, £5.60 per hour for two year-olds, and £5.50 per hour for three and four year-olds.
We do not have an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school-based nursery places were available in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life.
We do not retain data on school-based nursery places available in the Worsley and Eccles constituency. However, according to the department’s latest Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey for the reporting year 2024, there were 52,200 registered nursery class childcare places available in the North West region of England. The median hourly parent-paid fee for childcare in the region was £5.75 per hour for children under two, £5.60 per hour for two year-olds, and £5.50 per hour for three and four year-olds.
We do not have an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024/25 academic year.