Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, 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 she has made on improving the approval processes around animal research and ensuring animals continue to only be used where there is no available alternative.

The Home Office has two key strands of work to improve licence approval processes under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulatory framework. First, it is working with the Animals in Science Regulation Unit, funders and wider stakeholders to progress implementation of recommendations provided by Dr Frances Rawle relating to approvals processes to ensure that animals continue to only be used where there is no practicable alternative.

Concurrently, the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction is scheduled to provide recommendations to the Home Office to enhance the project licence application form for undertaking research involving animals. This will include advice aimed at strengthening the evaluation of replacement strategies.

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