Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the US National Institutes of Health's new initiative to expand human-based science while reducing animal use in research; and whether this could be replicated in the UK.

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 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 continually monitor international developments such as those at the US National Institutes of Health, and are in discussion with our overseas colleagues as to how we can work together on this matter.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) Health Certification Requirements and (b) other veterinary and customs requirements on the cross-border movement of endangered species between the UK and the EU.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to work closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address immediate challenges to the cross-border movement of endangered species, including the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity.

An SPS Agreement will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on replacing the use of animals with non-animal methods for antibody production; and whether her Department is taking steps to accelerate this process.

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

Following a review by the Animals in Science Committee in 2022 on licences for the production of antibodies, the Animals in Science Regulator implemented published changes to strengthen the requirement for robust justifications. This included an additional condition placed on all new antibody project licence applications that requires applicants to justify they have fully considered all recommendations in the report. Further actions of communicating the report, embedding changes in the Regulator and conducting Regulatory Reform that will strengthen delivery of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) have also been implemented.

Project licence proposals for research on animals for which there is no non-animal alternative must comply fully with the 3Rs. This assures that, in every research proposal, 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.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. This is achieved through UK Research and Innovation who fund the National Centre for the 3Rs and research into the development of alternatives through Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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 will publish a strategy to support accelerating the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by the Animals in Science Committee entitled Review of antibody licences, published on 20 October 2022, whether the Animals in Science Committee plans to publish an updated review; and whether her Department plans to provide funding for further research on this issue.

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

Following a review by the Animals in Science Committee in 2022 on licences for the production of antibodies, the Animals in Science Regulator implemented published changes to strengthen the requirement for robust justifications. This included an additional condition placed on all new antibody project licence applications that requires applicants to justify they have fully considered all recommendations in the report. Further actions of communicating the report, embedding changes in the Regulator and conducting Regulatory Reform that will strengthen delivery of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) have also been implemented.

Project licence proposals for research on animals for which there is no non-animal alternative must comply fully with the 3Rs. This assures that, in every research proposal, 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.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. This is achieved through UK Research and Innovation who fund the National Centre for the 3Rs and research into the development of alternatives through Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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 will publish a strategy to support accelerating the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that an adequate justification is provided when animals are used in antibody production.

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

Following a review by the Animals in Science Committee in 2022 on licences for the production of antibodies, the Animals in Science Regulator implemented published changes to strengthen the requirement for robust justifications. This included an additional condition placed on all new antibody project licence applications that requires applicants to justify they have fully considered all recommendations in the report. Further actions of communicating the report, embedding changes in the Regulator and conducting Regulatory Reform that will strengthen delivery of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) have also been implemented.

Project licence proposals for research on animals for which there is no non-animal alternative must comply fully with the 3Rs. This assures that, in every research proposal, 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.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. This is achieved through UK Research and Innovation who fund the National Centre for the 3Rs and research into the development of alternatives through Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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 will publish a strategy to support accelerating the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent engagement he has had with (a) zoos and (b) aquariums on the inclusion of conservation animal transfers in a future UK-EU veterinary agreement.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have worked closely with zoos and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address challenges related to the movement of animals between the UK and the EU. This includes the availability of Export Health Certificates and to expedite requests for new EHCs, for breeding programmes where welfare concerns may arise.

Our future priority is to secure the long-term UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to reduce trade barriers and enable the safe and efficient movement of zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduce administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

Ministers have actively engaged with the zoo and wildlife sector through multiple visits and discussions to understand it’s challenges and opportunities. This dialogue will continue as we work together to support ongoing improvements.

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 align the General Practice and Community Pharmacy funding and operating frameworks.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

General practice and community pharmacy have separate funding and operating arrangements, reflecting the differences in the way patients use these services.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding for any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26, the biggest increase in over a decade. The 7.2% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is faster than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget overall, helping to reverse the decade-long trend of general practices receiving an ever-decreasing percentage of NHS funding.

NHS England is improving digital systems to make the referral process better integrated between pharmacies and general practices, which includes further development of electronic referral systems. Most pharmacies can now also receive Pharmacy First referrals from general practitioners straight into their NHS England assured pharmacy IT systems.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase referral rates to the Pharmacy First service.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In February 2025, approximately 75% of general practices (GPs) in England made at least one referral into the NHS Pharmacy First Service.

There are regional differences in terms of GP engagement, NHS 111, and urgent and emergency care settings with the Pharmacy First service, with some integrated care boards (ICBs) performing better than others. To help increase the uptake, NHS England is working closely with ICBs, GP stakeholders, and the community pharmacy sector.

We continue to promote the Pharmacy First service. This includes two targeted public communication campaigns with associated media materials, coordinated communications across the healthcare system, and sharing best practices where the service is already working well. Action is also being taken to drive further engagement and referrals from GPs, with targeted engagement through regional and ICB channels and regular data to support performance management. In addition to this, funding has been provided to ICBs to recruit primary care network engagement leads who will be well placed to support practice teams to refer into the service.

NHS England is also improving digital systems to make the referral process better integrated, including further development of electronic referral systems. Most pharmacies can now also receive Pharmacy First referrals from GPs straight into their NHS England assured pharmacy IT systems.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote the Pharmacy First service.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In February 2025, approximately 75% of general practices (GPs) in England made at least one referral into the NHS Pharmacy First Service.

There are regional differences in terms of GP engagement, NHS 111, and urgent and emergency care settings with the Pharmacy First service, with some integrated care boards (ICBs) performing better than others. To help increase the uptake, NHS England is working closely with ICBs, GP stakeholders, and the community pharmacy sector.

We continue to promote the Pharmacy First service. This includes two targeted public communication campaigns with associated media materials, coordinated communications across the healthcare system, and sharing best practices where the service is already working well. Action is also being taken to drive further engagement and referrals from GPs, with targeted engagement through regional and ICB channels and regular data to support performance management. In addition to this, funding has been provided to ICBs to recruit primary care network engagement leads who will be well placed to support practice teams to refer into the service.

NHS England is also improving digital systems to make the referral process better integrated, including further development of electronic referral systems. Most pharmacies can now also receive Pharmacy First referrals from GPs straight into their NHS England assured pharmacy IT systems.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that a future UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary veterinary agreement supports the role of (a) zoos and (b) aquariums in international conservation breeding programmes.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

While we continue to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address immediate challenges regarding EU trade– such as the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity – our primary focus is on securing a long-term, sustainable solution through the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the EU.

The SPS Agreement will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduce administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

Found: Members present: Chi Onwurah (Chair); Dr Allison Gardner; Tom Gordon; Kit Malthouse; Jon Pearce; Steve Race

Found: Members present: Chi Onwurah (Chair); Dr Allison Gardner; Tom Gordon; Kit Malthouse; Jon Pearce; Steve Race