Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the trends in the numbers of imported mice used for animal testing in 2024.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of mice born outside the UK and used for the first time in experimental procedures in 2024 was 21,287. While this is an increase of 4.6 per cent from 2023, the overall total number of procedures involving mice fell by 2.3 per cent from 2023 to 2024.

The Home Office regulates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with the robust protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Licences to test on animals are only granted where applicants comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement. Animals can only be used where there is no non-animal alternative, numbers are minimised, and where the most refined methods of testing are used to minimise harms.

The Government has published the strategy, "Replacing animals in science, A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods" which will accelerate the roll out of safe and effective alternatives to phase out animal testing in all but exceptional circumstances. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will honour Red Wednesday on 19 November with reference to the intensification of religious persecution in Sudan.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the oral statement on Sudan given by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has considered an education campaign to raise public awareness of the potential merits of low-noise fireworks.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.

The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to meet with fireworks industry stakeholders.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.

The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review whether fireworks legislation adequately protects (a) animals and (b) vulnerable people.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.

The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to deliver (a) workforce and (b) training requirements to support an expansion of fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue in the NHS.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans by the Department to expand fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue. Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.

Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.

In the new year the Department will publish the National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for all patient groups, including those with brain cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of guidance provided to patients on their (a) rights and (b) options for the (i) storage and (ii) future research use of their tissue samples.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that patients are fully informed about their rights, options, and choices regarding the storage and future research use of their tissue samples. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) Code of Practice and Standards on Research aims to provide anyone undertaking activities relevant to this sector with a reference source which gives practical advice on the minimum steps necessary to comply with the relevant legislation and HTA policy. The code was updated in February 2025.

The HTA licenses and inspects organisations that collect human tissue. Their role is to make sure that organisations remove, store, and use brains, bodies, and tissues in an appropriate, respectful, and well-managed way, and that the wishes of individual patients and their families are respected. The HTA licensing standards establish consent as the fundamental legal and ethical requirements for the removal, storage, and use of human tissue.

The HTA’s regulatory framework helps ensure that tissue is stored to high standards, to be of most use to healthcare training and research.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations on NHS culture in the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission's report entitled Closing the Gap, published in September 2024.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the National Cancer Plan, we have engaged with brain cancer clinical experts and charities, as well as receiving this report, to help us develop the plan. The plan will include how we can reform the workforce to improve cancer patient outcomes, including for patients with brain cancer.

On 24 October 2025, NHS England published the Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29. This sets out that all National Health Service providers must meet the site-specific timeframes of the Government’s 150-day clinical trial set-up target. To support embedding research as part of everyday care, research activity and income should be reported to boards on a six-monthly basis.

We are embedding genomics as routine practice within the NHS and its workforce by delivering the genomics medicines service, seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs and implementing whole genome sequencing as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty NHS workforce in genomics.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of experiments using animals that were carried out in Wales in 2024; and whether she will be taking steps to reduce these numbers.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

In 2024, 25,718 regulated scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Wales, a decrease from 31,940 in 2023.

The Home Office regulates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with the robust protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Licences to test on animals are only granted where applicants comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement. Animals can only be used where there is no non-animal alternative, numbers are minimised, and where the most refined methods of testing are used to minimise harms.

The Government has published the strategy, "Replacing animals in science, A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods" which will accelerate the roll out of safe and effective alternatives to phase out animal testing in all but exceptional circumstances. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods