Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to to project 12 of her Department's publication entitled Non-technical summaries for project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act between January – March 2025, what the title is of the guidelines which specify the numbers of animals used in each study.

The legislation relating to placing a Medical Device on the market is The Medical Devices (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1478/contents/made).

We are working with regulators to see how advances in technology can and will reduce use and phase out use in some areas.

Although much research can be done without using animals, there are still purposes where use of live animals is essential, as the complexity of whole biological systems cannot be reliably replicated using alternative methodologies. Animal testing is therefore often required by all global medicines regulators, including the UK’s Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Applications for animal research must conform with all legal requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This includes, applying the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement); the replacement of animals with alternatives, the reduction of the number of animals used to the minimum possible and the refinement of any techniques to reduce the harm suffered by the animals to the minimum.