Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on supporting the upskilling of regulatory assessors as part of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy.

The delivery of the commitment to upskill regulatory assessors sits with OLS. Working with the NC3Rs Regulatory Sciences Forum, we are reviewing all existing regulatory training opportunities to identify any gaps where additional resources are needed. We are also exploring mechanisms to support regulators more easily access training and networking opportunities to help bridge gaps in understanding and address perceived regulatory barriers to implementation. The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.