Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with (a) industry, (b) civil society and (c) other relevant stakeholders on facilitating the end of animal testing.

The Government is committed to supporting alternative methods to the use of animals in science and the Labour Manifesto included a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing.” The Government has already held roundtables with stakeholders from businesses, regulators and across Government on how to best support the uptake, validation and development of alternative methods, and further discussions with civil society organisations will take place in December.