Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, if the preclinical translational models hub will be a physical institute; and what is the timetable to establish the translational models hub.

The Government’s strategy commits to create a preclinical translational models hub, supported by £30m of government funding, by the end of 2026. This will bring together data, AI, cell engineering, genomic technology and cutting-edge disease modelling capabilities to generate collaborative research at scale. This will create a pipeline of novel translational medicine models, with opportunities for partnerships across academia and industry. The hub is being developed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in consultation with stakeholders and more details will be announced at a later date.