Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1045, if he will make it his policy to publish a timetable by Christmas 2024 for phasing out animal testing.

The government is committed to reducing use of animals in scientific research in the long term. Our approach has been to support the development and application of approaches that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).

It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use.

We recognise that any work to phase out animal testing must be science led, in lock step with partners, and so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.