Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transitioning to animal free medical research methods on the economy.

The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, which will consider economic impacts.

Home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the UK is well positioned to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies for life sciences market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030, and on the scientific and economic advantages of more human-relevant methods applied in product development and testing.