Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how responsibility for animal welfare policy is divided between (a) his Department, (b) the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and (c) the Home Office; and who the lead ministers are.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for technology policy around the development, validation and uptake of alternative testing methods, led by Lord Vallance. The Home Office is responsible for regulation of the use of animals in research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which is the legislation that protects animals used for scientific purposes, led by Lord Hanson. Defra is responsible for enacting and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which outlines the basic duty of care for animals, led by Baroness Hayman. Defra also develops and implements specific animal welfare regulations, such as animal transport.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 46724, what steps his Department is taking to support research into (a) non-animal New Approach Methodologies and (b) alternatives to animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the development of New Approach Methodologies and non-animal alternatives. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a portfolio of investments that support research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ on a chip and computer modelling. In addition they invest £10m annually to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). UKRI also supports ‘human-specific’ research, for example a £15m call on Novel human in vitro models with NC3Rs and Wellcome.
The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38034, if he will establish an expert advisory group of representatives from (a) industry, (b) academia and (c) civil society to oversee the implementation of its forthcoming strategy on phasing out animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government has been consulting industry, academia and civil society as this process unfolds.
The Government is drafting a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. As part of this, we are considering how we harness expertise in the use of animals in science and their replacement, which is of interest to a variety of government departments and bodies. We will make any announcements when the strategy is published later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking with regulators to increase adoption of non-animal New Approach Methodologies.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.
The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year. As part of this we are engaging with regulators including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and international medicines regulators such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) as to how we will take this commitment forward.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 35265 on Animal Experiments, what steps he plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) report on progress made against the commitments set out in the planned strategy.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. Regarding the monitoring and reporting on progress on commitments made, the plan will include arrangements for governance of delivery.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to set (a) clear objectives, (b) measurable milestones and (c) interim targets to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, which will set out clear objectives and measurable milestones. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners, so we will not be setting interim targets or arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the forthcoming strategy on phasing out animal testing will include all areas of science and regulatory testing, including chemicals, medicines, and cosmetics; and if he will publish a list of the specific areas under review.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year. It will cover the whole range of uses of animals in science, including chemicals, medicines and cosmetics; each sector is at a different stage in its journey to applying alternative methods, which the strategy will take into account.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20215 on Animal Experiments, what her planned timetable is for publishing the plan.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. We are currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science as to how we will take this commitment forward, including the publishing of a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. We expect to publish this strategy later this year
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will amend the Online Safety Act 2023 to include a statutory code of practice on gendered violence.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
It is a priority under the Online Safety Act for platforms to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, much of which disproportionately targets women and girls. This includes harassment, sexual exploitation, extreme pornography, and controlling or coercive behaviour.
Ofcom’s codes of practice will set out how companies can comply with their duties, including how companies should tackle harms facing women and girls online.
In February 2025, Ofcom will also publish draft guidance for consultation on protecting and empowering women and girls.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6247 on Animal Experiments: Cats, what funding is being provided to support human-specific research into relevant conditions.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) fund a variety of approaches to research on conditions affecting humans. One third of MRC (Medical Research Council) and BBSRC’s (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) research grants involve the use of animals licensed under ASPA (Animals Scientific Procedures Act) in some part of the research project. There are no active grants using cats.
Although animal use is still considered important for many research areas, UKRI funds multiple approaches to the replacement of animals in research, including through core funding to the NC3Rs (National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research).