Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the UK’s global ranking in the (a) development and (b) use of human-specific technologies in medical research.

The Government has not made an assessment on the UK’s global ranking in the development and use of human-specific technologies in medical research as there is no specific ranking. The Government is actively supporting and funding the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). UK Research and Innovation provides the core funding for the National Centre for 3Rs, which drives the uptake of 3Rs technologies. Since it was established, the NC3Rs has invested £77 million in research and almost £27 million in contracts through its CRACK IT Challenges innovation scheme.