Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research her Department has commissioned on the contribution of testing households products and their ingredients on animals to the UK economy; and if she will make a statement.

The Home Office has not commissioned research on the contribution of testing household products and their ingredients on animals to the UK economy.

We have made a commitment to ban the testing of household products on animals. Although superficially straightforward, this issue has not been easy to resolve. Any solution has to be legally viable since we cannot ban testing
which may be required under UK or EU law.

We also need to be cautious that we do not develop a solution that precludes research that is essential or drives necessary research overseas. The key issue is around ingredients. My officials are currently engaging with stakeholders
to develop a solution that is workable and sensible, but does not have a chain of unforeseen circumstances.