Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to set a target date for the long-term replacement of animal experiments in medical research with human-specific technologies.

The manifesto commits us to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing, and we are currently engaging with the sector as to how to take this commitment forward. Any policy changes as a result of this work will be assessed appropriately.

It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners, so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.