Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the draft Statutory Instrument, The Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the right to protest against animal testing.

Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we will always defend that right. But, where disruption from protest risks undermining our sovereign capability to prepare and respond to a pandemic, we must take action to protect key infrastructure and supply chains.

The Life Sciences industry is of vital importance to this country. The sector provides crucial research to further medical capabilities in the UK and plays a central role in our pandemic preparedness capabilities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, our national response depended on having the tools and expertise to rapidly develop new vaccines and treatments.

On 11 November, the OLS published a strategy setting out the steps that the Government will take over the next 5 years towards achieving a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. Until that goal can be achieved, the immediate and critical issue remains that the sector is being targeted by protestors who oppose current clinical research methods.

That is why the Government is taking the proportionate step to amend section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023. This change will extend the definition of Key National Infrastructure within the Act to include the Life Sciences sector. The offence within the Act of interference with the use or operation of Key National Infrastructure will apply to the Life Sciences sector in addition to the existing sectors covered under section 7(6) of the Act. In turn, this change will reduce supply chain interference, protect the sector’s ability to operate in the UK, and ultimately support the UK’s pandemic preparedness and national health resilience.