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 implications for his policies of the proposed funding by the European Commission for the development of new approach methodologies which do not involve the use of live animals in experiments.

The Government is committed to supporting alternatives to animals in science and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. We have reviewed the European Commission's (EC) Life Sciences Strategy and engaged with the European Medicines Agency on accelerating the science-led adoption of alternatives for a range of uses of animals in science, including chemicals, medicines and cosmetics. Government officials regularly attend international meetings to collaborate on best practice and consider approaches to reducing reliance on animal testing, including attending European Commission workshops on the EC roadmap to phasing out animal testing for chemicals.