Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain that showed a seven per cent increase in scientific procedures on living animals in higher education and training between 2017 and 2018, what steps she is taking to ensure the reduction and replacement of animals used in that sector.

The Home Office assures the minimum number of animals are used for scientific procedures in higher education and training by the application of the 3Rs principles – replacement, reduction and refinement. Procedures on animals are only authorised after a rigorous assessment process, which is undertaken by the Home Office Inspectorate.

As part of the project licence application process, applicants are required to describe what steps they have taken to research non-animal alternative methodologies and why the use of animals is required to achieve their scientific objectives