Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to promote alternative testing methods that reduce the use of animals in scientific research.

On 11^th November the Government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”.

The strategy outlines our vision where animals are only used in research and development in exceptional circumstances. It lays out the steps the Government will take over the next five years towards achieving this, by creating a research and innovation system that replaces animals with alternative methods where scientifically possible.

The strategy spans discovery and translational research, chemical, environmental, safety and toxicity testing, and outlines timelines for replacement of specific uses of animals in science.