Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in establishing a new preclinical translational research hub to bring together data, cell engineering, genomic technology, and expertise to create a pipeline of novel translational medicine models.

The delivery of the commitment to Create a preclinical translational models hub is led by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The Preclinical translational models hub funding call to identify a host for the hub was launched on 2 March 2026 with decisions on this expected in July. The Hub is expected to commence work in Autumn 2026.

The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.