Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project "Context, Value, and Decision Making From Synapses To Circuits", outlined in the Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, published on 11 July, what assessment they have made of mice being given psychostimulant rewards, including cocaine and amphetamine; and how this is expected to benefit human beings, animals or the environment.

Every project application to use animals in science is subject to a robust and rigorous harm benefit assessment by a trained Home Office Inspector whom is a member of either the veterinary or medical profession. This ensures that any harm that may be caused to the animals is justified by the likely expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment. This project is researching basic neuroscience. The research aims to inform fundamental understanding of how neural networks work in healthy adults, and how this is altered by experience during adolescence.

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 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is engaging with stakeholders to finalise a strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing which is scheduled for publication later this year.