Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to implement the Non-Animal Methods strategy.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.We recognise that any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led and in lock step with partners. We are currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science as to how we will take this commitment forward.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to progress the approval of existing unapproved non-animal methods of pharmaceutical testing via the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing.It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use. The Government is engaging with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on how to accelerate the science-led adoption of alternatives to the use of animals for drug development and testing. These will need to be incorporated into international regulatory guidelines which the MHRA adhere to.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with international partners to change International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use policy to allow results from non-animal methods of pharmaceutical testing to be used to support drug safety through pre-clinical trials.

The Government has committed to work towards phasing out of animal testing, including supporting the development and testing of new medicines.The Government is working with pharmaceutical industry partners and through our medicines regulatory agency (MHRA) to understand the international drivers and challenges to integrating non-animal methods into regulatory safety testing. We are engaging with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) who represent the UK at the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use on how to accelerate the acceptance of data generated in non-animal methods for drug safety decision making.

Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the (a) end-to-end process and (b) regulatory landscape for pre-clinical animal testing is better understood by the public.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science.Non Government Organisations such as The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and Understanding Animal Research provide excellent public facing resources to support the public to better understand animal testing in drug development and regulation, and the significant ongoing efforts to reduce it. We will continue to engage with these organisations through our government agencies to support this outreach.

Innovation and Technology, if he will publish a detailed timeline of the steps he intends to take to phase-out animal testing.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing and we are currently engaging with the sector as to how to take this commitment forward. It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners, so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to secure external funding for the further development of non-animal methods of pharmaceutical testing.

The Government is committed to supporting the development and uptake of alternative methods to the use of animals in science and we are engaging with the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory authorities on how to take this commitment forward. The Government invests significantly through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in the development and adoption of non-animal approaches. The NC3Rs receives additional funding from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for specific programmes and substantial in-kind support from companies for their CRACK IT innovation programme.