Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department is taking steps with animal protection organisations to phase out animal experimentation.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment 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, and is engaging animal welfare organisations in developing this. The Government has also recently hosted a roundtable with representatives from these organisations to discuss the strategy.