Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a target for GDP invested in research and development.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
In 2017, the Government committed to a target of increasing UK economy-wide investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, and 3% in the longer-term.
Last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) updated its methodology for capturing R&D performed in small businesses and higher education institutions throughout the UK. This has not yet been incorporated into calculations of GDP, and so an official estimate of UK R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP under the new methodology is not yet available. However, on this revised basis, DSIT estimates R&D investment would have been between 2.8% and 2.9% of GDP for 2021. Government remains committed to public R&D expenditure reaching £20bn for 24/25, a record level.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce animal testing.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government supports advances in biomedical science to reduce the use of animals in research, including stem cell research, cell culture, imaging and computer modelling techniques. UK Research & Innovation funds the development of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs) through the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs). UK law requires that animals are only 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 is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an expert advisory task force on non-animal scientific research.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government has no current plans to establish an expert advisory group on non-animal research. The Government is committed to fully implementing the 3Rs, techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research, including transitioning to non-animal methods, wherever possible. The Government funds the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which is widely recognised for its expertise, and delivers a range of initiatives to help the scientific community put the 3Rs into practice. The NC3Rs has recently set out its three-year strategy to increase the focus on animal replacement technologies and champion high standards in animal research.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to take steps to introduce legislative proposals to (a) phase out animal testing and (b) support a full transition to non-animal approaches.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The government has no plans to introduce legislative proposals at this time. UK law already requires that animals are only 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 is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit. The Government is committed to fully implementing the 3Rs, techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research, including transitioning to non-animal methods, wherever possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prohibit the re-testing on animals of (a) materials, (b) chemicals, (c) foods and (d) drugs already in public use.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government has no current plans to assess the potential merits of legislative proposals to prohibit re-testing of products already in public use. Generally, once a product has had its initial approval, no further animal testing would be expected, though some exemptions exist when scientifically necessary.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to help shut down social media activity in the UK that incites further violence in Sudan.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK strongly condemns the attacks on civilians across Sudan and my Hon. Friend, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, has previously shared details of the UK’s efforts, to stop the violence, ensure that civilians are protected, and bring about safe and unfettered humanitarian access.
The government works closely with the major social media platforms and encourages them to consistently apply their policies, including policies on content that incites violence. Under the new transparency, accountability and freedom of expression duties in the Online Safety Bill, the largest platforms (category 1 services) will be required to have transparent and consistently enforced terms of service.