Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of greater partnerships between the NHS and medical researchers on developing non-animal methods for scientific testing.

The Government recognises the important role that collaboration between the NHS, researchers and industry can play in accelerating the development of life sciences innovations. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are supporting partnerships that bring together expertise, data and human biological samples to develop more human-relevant approaches to research and testing. For example, the new Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub will support the development of models using cells donated by NHS patients, helping researchers better understand how people may respond to new treatments and supporting innovation in medicines development.