Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to phase out the use of crustaceans in scientific experimentation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy which sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. The strategy is available at:
The strategy does not preclude the development of alternatives to the use of animal species not currently covered by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) protections, including decapod crustaceans.
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognised decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government remains committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.
The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be brought within the scope of ASPA.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of excluding decapod crustaceans from the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 on the Government's approach to animal sentience.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government remains committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.
The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be brought within the scope of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The strategy is available at:
Asked by: Douglas McAllister (Labour - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Replacing animals in science strategy on economic growth.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has published a strategy to support alternatives to the use of animals in science, which considered economic impacts.
Building on the UK’s strengths as home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the strategy will support the UK to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030
The strategy has also considered the scientific and economic advantages of human-relevant methods for product development and testing.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the scope of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans; and what the timeline is for any work required prior to the decision.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.
The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. No timeline has yet been set and decisions will follow further evidence gathering.
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The strategy is available at:
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod. This applies both to those caught for human consumption and to those used in scientific research. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings.
The Home Office is carefully considering the next steps in collaboration with other relevant departments.
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure transparency for consumers in the use of AI-generated music on streaming platforms; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI-generated music on artists.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for the creative industries, including music. We recognise concerns regarding AI-generated content on streaming platforms and are engaging with relevant music industry stakeholders to better understand the implications. On AI and copyright specifically, the Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have jointly chaired three meetings with representatives of the creative and AI sectors. We are also establishing industry-expert working groups and a parliamentary working group to give Members the opportunity to share their views on AI. Our goal is to put in place measures and funding that will help create the conditions for our UK artists to remain globally competitive.
This government is dedicated to supporting UK artists, including emerging talent, to thrive and achieve their full potential. As part of this Government’s Industrial Strategy, the Creative Industries Sector Plan published in June set out our ambition to unlock new opportunities for innovation across the creative sector and wider economy while ensuring a trusted copyright regime that values and protects human creativity.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the music industry on the potential impact of trends in the level of AI-generated music available through streaming platforms on the music industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for the creative industries, including music. We recognise concerns regarding AI-generated content on streaming platforms and are engaging with relevant music industry stakeholders to better understand the implications. On AI and copyright specifically, the Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have jointly chaired three meetings with representatives of the creative and AI sectors. We are also establishing industry-expert working groups and a parliamentary working group to give Members the opportunity to share their views on AI. Our goal is to put in place measures and funding that will help create the conditions for our UK artists to remain globally competitive.
This government is dedicated to supporting UK artists, including emerging talent, to thrive and achieve their full potential. As part of this Government’s Industrial Strategy, the Creative Industries Sector Plan published in June set out our ambition to unlock new opportunities for innovation across the creative sector and wider economy while ensuring a trusted copyright regime that values and protects human creativity.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the pledge to make the UK one of the world’s top three life sciences economies on phasing out animal testing in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting alternatives to animals in science and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption, which will consider economic impacts including benefits.
Building on the UK’s strengths as home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the strategy will support the UK to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030, and on the scientific and economic advantages of more human-relevant methods for product development and testing.
No specific assessment on Huntingdon has been done.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on animal testing of the ability of (a) organ-on-chip, (b) artificial intelligence and (c) advanced use of human cells and tissues to provide human-relevant data on the effects of potential new medicines in whole biological systems.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. While it is not yet possible to replace all animal use, we support approaches that replace, reduce and refine animal use in research, and provide human-relevant translatable data, including organ-on-chip, cell-based assays and AI. The impact of individual technical advancements are however a matter for individual regulators to consider, and the Government strategy will help facilitate the inclusion and adoption of alternative methods in these regulatory contexts.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding his Department plans to allocate for the (a) development and (b) validation of non-animal human-relevant scientific methods in each financial year until 2028-29.
Answered by Feryal Clark
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) invests to support research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. These are categorised as basic research, so calculating funding for alternative methods specifically is not possible. Future investment will be determined by internal allocations of DSIT’s spending review settlement announced on 11.06.25. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and is conducting a five-year review to guide future investment.
The Government will publish a strategy to support non-animal alternatives later this year.