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Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animal testing licences for chemical substances used as cosmetic ingredients were for substances used exclusively in cosmetics between 2019 and 2022.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Between 2019 and 2022, the Government granted one licence authorising animal testing for chemicals used exclusively as ingredients in cosmetic products, for the purposes of worker or environmental safety under chemicals (REACH) regulations.

I can confirm that, following the Government’s ban of 17 May 2023, no animal testing is being conducted, nor will any testing be authorised, of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

Written Question
NHS: Protective Clothing
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department investigated the alleged leaking of confidential information to companies bidding for PPE contracts in 2020.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

All offers to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including that from I Love Cosmetics Ltd for hand sanitiser, were evaluated by Departmental officials on the supplier’s financial standing, compliance with minimum product, service and technical specifications and ability to perform the contract. Contracts were awarded by the appropriate Departmental accounting officer in line with the Department’s standard terms and conditions.

The Department is not aware of any allegations regarding the leaking of confidential information to companies offering to supply PPE.

Written Question
NHS: Protective Clothing
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment criteria her Department used when awarding a contract for supply of PPE to ILC UK Ltd in 2020.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

All offers to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including that from I Love Cosmetics Ltd for hand sanitiser, were evaluated by Departmental officials on the supplier’s financial standing, compliance with minimum product, service and technical specifications and ability to perform the contract. Contracts were awarded by the appropriate Departmental accounting officer in line with the Department’s standard terms and conditions.

The Department is not aware of any allegations regarding the leaking of confidential information to companies offering to supply PPE.

Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Tuesday 19th December 2023

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2023 to Question 2844 on Animal Experiments: Cosmetics, whether animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients is being conducted in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The regulation of animals in science under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is a transferred matter under the Northern Ireland devolution settlement.

Written Question
Cosmetics: Exports
Thursday 7th December 2023

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help support businesses that export to the US with complying with the enforcement regulations under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act that come into force on 1 January 2024.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government’s Export Strategy, ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’, focuses on the challenges UK businesses face when exporting. It targets barriers to trade and helps businesses at every stage of their export journey. The Department for Business and Trade continues to support companies through our network of domestic and overseas trade advisers, sector specialists and the Export Support Service.

Businesses can contact the Export Support Service if they have any export related questions.

Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Wednesday 29th November 2023

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to revoke licences for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals issued between 2019 and 2022.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The Home Secretary’s written statement of 17 May 2023 announced a ban on new licences for animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients, carried out under chemicals (REACH) regulations for the purpose of worker and environmental safety.

The Home Office has completed its review of existing ‘legacy’ licences and has engaged with the relevant companies. I can confirm that, in Great Britain, no animal testing is being conducted, nor will any testing be authorised, of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the written statement entitled Regulation Update of 17 May 2023, HCWS779, what recent progress his Department has made on administering the ban on animal testing for chemicals used as cosmetic ingredients over the long-term.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The Home Secretary’s written statement of 17 May 2023 announced a ban on new licences for animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients, carried out under chemicals (REACH) regulations for the purpose of worker and environmental safety.

The Home Office has reviewed existing ‘legacy’ licences and engaged with the relevant companies. I can confirm that no animal testing is now authorised in Great Britain of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

The Home Office is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, to review the effective administration of the ban over the longer term. This will have due regard to the needs of the science industry, the need to ensure worker and environmental safety, and the need to protect animals from unnecessary harm.

Written Question
Marine Environment
Friday 21st July 2023

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) restore marine (i) habitats and (ii) wildlife.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

  • The recently published EIP sets out our focus on enhancing nature in marine and coastal environments, including the steps we are taking to restore and protect marine habitats and marine wildlife.
  • These include delivering the UK Marine Strategy, which sets our ambition for Good Environmental Status (GES) across our seas.
  • To help achieve GES we have created a series of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect and restore our marine biodiversity. We are focused on strengthening the protection of this extensive network of 178 sites covering 40% of English waters, which represents the range of species and habitats found in our seas.
  • To complement the MPA network, the first three Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English waters came into force on 5 July 2023. HPMAs will provide the highest levels of protection in our seas, allowing nature to fully recover to a more natural state and helping the ecosystem to thrive.
  • A number of estuarine and coastal habitat restoration initiatives are also underway including the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative which aims to reverse centuries of coastal habitat decline by restoring seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs to bring benefits to people and nature.
  • In addition, the government’s £80m Green Recovery Challenge Fund has supported a range of nature recovery projects across England, some which have included saltmarsh and seagrass restoration.
  • We also protect marine wildlife in a number of other ways in our domestic waters. This includes being fully committed to tackling accidental bycatch in fisheries, which is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as cetaceans.
  • In 2021, we introduced new rules making it a mandatory requirement under fishing vessel licence conditions for fishers to report any marine mammal bycatch to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative sets out how the UK will achieve its ambitions to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch (accidental capture) and entanglement of sensitive marine species in UK fisheries.
  • To help reduce disturbance to marine wildlife we published the Marine and Coastal Wildlife Code on 24 May.
  • We are also working to reduce the harmful impacts on marine wildlife and habitats arising from plastic pollution. We have taken measures to target some of the most commonly littered plastic items, such as our carrier bag charge and our bans on a range of single-use plastic items. Our restrictions on straws, stirrers and cotton buds have had a big impact – these items used to appear in ‘top 10 littered items’ lists, but this is no longer the case. We have also taken action on microbeads in rinse off cosmetics, plastic pellets and ghost gear.
  • Internationally, we are also leading global efforts to protect the ocean and champion the GBF Target 3 to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of the land and 30% of the ocean globally by 2030 (30by30). This includes through our role as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People, and our leadership of the Global Ocean Alliance.
  • The adoption of the Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement on 19 June will also lead to much greater protection for the two-thirds of the global ocean that lies beyond national jurisdiction, playing a key role in achieving the 30by30 target. The UK will sign the Agreement early and work to ratify as soon as practicable, whilst supporting others to do the same.
  • The UK’s Blue Planet Fund, a £500 million programme, supports developing countries to protect the marine environment and reduce poverty, by tackling threats to ocean health such as illegal fishing, pollution and climate change; and at the UN Ocean conference in 2022, we committed up to £100 million of Blue Planet Funding to support the implementation, management and enforcement of Marine Protected Areas.
Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Tuesday 18th July 2023

Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 May 2023 HCWS779 on Animal Testing, how many of the time-limited licenses issued between 2019 and 2022 which permit the testing on animals of ingredients used in cosmetics production are valid.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

On 17 May 2023, the Government introduced a licensing ban on animal testing of chemicals exclusively intended as ingredients in cosmetics.

There are currently three live licences that authorise animal testing of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics.

Written Question
Animal Experiments: Cosmetics
Wednesday 5th July 2023

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to cancel or recall existing licenses that allow companies to carry out exclusive-use cosmetics ingredients on animals.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The Government is engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on legacy licences.