Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38034, if he will establish an expert advisory group of representatives from (a) industry, (b) academia and (c) civil society to oversee the implementation of its forthcoming strategy on phasing out animal testing.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government has been consulting industry, academia and civil society as this process unfolds.

The Government is drafting a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. As part of this, we are considering how we harness expertise in the use of animals in science and their replacement, which is of interest to a variety of government departments and bodies. We will make any announcements when the strategy is published later this year.