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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to make the UK as a leader in establishing internationally recognised standards for validating non-animal methods for use in medicines development.

The Government is positioning the UK as a global leader in alternative methods by strengthening regulatory confidence, investing in validation infrastructure and supporting the development, validation and uptake of non-animal methods. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are working with regulators and international partners to support the acceptance of validated methods and help establish international best practice. This includes establishing the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM) and strengthening engagement with international regulators to support the global acceptance of alternative methods for medicines development.