Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of establishing a cross-departmental roadmap to transition away from animal testing.

The Government has no current plans to establish a cross-departmental roadmap. The Government supports advances in biomedical science to reduce the use of animals in research, including stem cell research, cell culture, imaging and computer modelling techniques. UK Research & Innovation funds the development of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs) through the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs). UK law requires that animals are only used in science where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used, and potential harm is the minimum needed to achieve scientific benefit.