Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation of 25 October 2021, Official Report, column 46WH, whether it remains her policy that animals are not used in the batch potency testing of (a) botulinum toxin as a registered medicine and (b) botulinum toxin for any other use as a result of the availability of a validated non-animal alternative.

To protect human safety there are legal requirements to test the safety and potency of medicinal products and drug substances containing botulinum toxin.

This Government confirms that where validated non- animal alternatives acceptable to the relevant regulator are available to meet these legal requirements, then animal testing in the UK is not authorised.