Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of recent trends in the level of public support for ending animal experiments in medical research.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. A survey on public attitudes to animal research was carried out regularly until 2018 but ceased during the pandemic and has not been restarted. We are considering the future of the survey as part of our work to deliver the manifesto commitment.