Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an expert advisory task force on non-animal scientific research.

The Government has no current plans to establish an expert advisory group on non-animal research. The Government is committed to fully implementing the 3Rs, techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research, including transitioning to non-animal methods, wherever possible. The Government funds the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which is widely recognised for its expertise, and delivers a range of initiatives to help the scientific community put the 3Rs into practice. The NC3Rs has recently set out its three-year strategy to increase the focus on animal replacement technologies and champion high standards in animal research.