Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the written statement entitled Regulation Update of 17 May 2023, HCWS779, what recent progress his Department has made on administering the ban on animal testing for chemicals used as cosmetic ingredients over the long-term.

The Home Secretary’s written statement of 17 May 2023 announced a ban on new licences for animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients, carried out under chemicals (REACH) regulations for the purpose of worker and environmental safety.

The Home Office has reviewed existing ‘legacy’ licences and engaged with the relevant companies. I can confirm that no animal testing is now authorised in Great Britain of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

The Home Office is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, to review the effective administration of the ban over the longer term. This will have due regard to the needs of the science industry, the need to ensure worker and environmental safety, and the need to protect animals from unnecessary harm.