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 to (a) monitor delivery of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, (b) provide stable multi-year funding for its implementation, including UKCVAM, (c) publish milestones and progress updates, and (d) support regulatory changes to increase the uptake of non-animal methods, including delivery of the strategy’s 2026 commitments.

The Government’s strategy Replacing animals in science strategy is setting up governance structures, including a Ministerial board, to oversee progress and ensure momentum is maintained. £60m of ringfenced, multiyear funding has been provided to secure long-term investment for the strategy’s measures, including UKCVAM and the preclinical translational models hub, through the 2025 Spending Review. Transparent targets and milestones, alongside KPIs will be published starting in 2026. Current legislation requires alternatives to animals to be used wherever available, so there are no current plans to change legislation.