Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 258 · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on creating a publicly available dashboard of progress against key deliverables.
The Government will publish a delivery update on progress across all elements of the strategy including the key performance indicators dashboard later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on developing mechanisms to enable regulators to increase uptake of the MHRA’s scientific advice service.
The strategy sets out seven commitments to increase confidence in the validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods.On 24 March, the MHRA announced it will offer early regulatory review of non‑animal data, including data generated using in silico approaches, to provide clarity on how such data will be assessed ahead of clinical trials. MHRA is the first UK regulator to offer this service, setting a precedent which the Government expects other regulators to follow.The Government will publish a delivery update, including the regulatory elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in creating positive incentives for research proposal applicants to develop and implement alternatives to animal use.
The delivery of the commitment to Enable funders to ensure thorough scrutiny of animal research in funding decisions is led by UKRI and will create positive incentives for research proposal applicants to develop and implement alternatives to animal use.UKRI are developing a funding service to support this and the strategy commits to start the funding cycle in 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on the UK fiscal framework for pre-clinical Contract Research Organisations.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology engages routinely with HM Treasury on a range of issues affecting the UK life sciences sector, including the fiscal framework. Officials have discussed options for supporting pre‑clinical Contract Research Organisations with HM Treasury and work continues.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, Published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in providing foundational 3Rs training in alternative methods to all PhD students and early career scientists.
The delivery of the commitment to provide foundational 3Rs training is led by the NC3Rs. NC3Rs is developing plans in collaboration with their Board on how to expand their existing PhD student and early career researcher training so that it is accessible to all scientists who are embarking on careers using animals and alternative methods.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in strengthening the commitment of journal editors to publishing research using alternative methods without requiring comparison with an animal model.
The delivery of the commitment to strengthen the commitment of journal editors to publishing research using alternative methods sits with NC3Rs.As set out in the strategy, this work will be initiated at the start of 2027. To support this, NC3Rs will launch their DRIVER (Designing and Reporting In Vitro Experiments Responsibly) recommendations that underpin improved experimental design and reporting of in vitro studies in 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper Replacing animals in science: a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, by how much she plans to increase investment in alternative methods in a) 2026/27, b) 2027/28 and c) 2028/29.
The commitments to increase investment and expand challenge led innovation for alternative methods are being led by UKRI.The Strategy was supported by £75m of funding and commits to increasing investment in alternative methods. UKRI has been in discussion to consider the most effective delivery approach and £20 million of increased funding is already available through the Pre‑clinical Translational Models Hub funding call, launched in March 2026. In addition, Innovate UK launched a £2 million Contracts for Innovation competition in February 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in creating a preclinical translational models hub.
The delivery of the commitment to Create a preclinical translational models hub is led by the Medical Research Council (MRC).The Preclinical translational models hub funding call to identify a host for the hub was launched on 2 March 2026 with decisions on this expected in July. The Hub is expected to commence work this year.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made in developing a set of key performance indicators with which to assess delivery of the strategy.
The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in increasing sustained investment focused on animal replacement.
The commitments to increase investment and expand challenge led innovation for alternative methods are being led by UKRI.The Strategy was supported by £75m of funding and commits to increasing investment in alternative methods. UKRI has been in discussion to consider the most effective delivery approach and £20 million of increased funding is already available through the Pre‑clinical Translational Models Hub funding call, launched in March 2026. In addition, Innovate UK launched a £2 million Contracts for Innovation competition in February 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in increasing the visibility of available alternative methods to facilitate their uptake.
Work to increase the visibility of available alternative methods to facilitate their uptake will be led by the NC3Rs and delivered through an expansion of their gateway publishing platform, so that it is available to all researchers developing alternative methods. Work is underway to identify and collate UKRI-funded alternative methods for inclusion on the gateway. The strategy aims for this expanded platform to be in place by the end of 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on forming a cross-governmental Ministerial group on alternative methods.
The Ministerial Alternative Methods Strategy Delivery Group met for the first time in March and is scheduled to meet quarterly, with the next meeting due to take place in June.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made on achieving (a) equal and (b) better research and testing outcomes using alternative methods.
The strategy sets out a long‑term, cross‑government programme to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of non‑animal methods. By achieving the commitments set out in the strategy this government will achieve equal and better research and testing outcomes using alternative methods.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made in positioning the UK as a global leader in alternative methods.
The Government is positioning the UK as a global leader in alternative methods by strengthening regulatory confidence through MHRA reform and investing in validation infrastructure and skills, supporting UK leadership by setting international benchmarks for how alternative methods are developed, assessed and adopted.As part of this, we are scoping opportunities for international engagement at both multilateral and bilateral level, including plans to bring together international regulators to discuss the expansion of existing partnerships, the establishment of new partnerships, and priorities of mutual importance.The Government will publish a delivery update later in 2026, alongside a set of key performance indicators covering all elements of the strategy.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, by when she plans to publish areas of research interest for alternative methods.
UKRI is leading the commitment to publish Areas of Research Interest for alternative methods.The strategy commits to initiating this work in the first half of 2026, with discussions now happening between the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to agree the approach.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in implementing better animal research approval and dissemination mechanisms to assess whether animal use is required or whether alternatives could be used.
The strategy aims to improve animal research approval and dissemination mechanisms, to better assess where alternative methods can be used. This work is being taken forward through the commitments set out under the Discovery Research Themes, with activities to be initiated during 2026–27.The Government will publish a delivery update later in 2026, alongside key performance indicators setting out progress across all elements of the strategy.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress she has made in increasing the visibility of available alternative methods.
Work to increase the visibility of available alternative methods to facilitate their uptake is led by the NC3Rs and delivered through an expansion of their gateway publishing platform, so that it is available to all researchers developing alternative methods. Work is underway to identify and collate UKRI-funded alternative methods for inclusion on the gateway. The strategy aims for this expanded platform to be in place by the end of 2026.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in facilitating widespread adoption of AI methods to assess potential safety and toxicity profiles.
Increasing investment in data-driven biology sits with UKRI, which is engaging with stakeholders on how best to embed data enabled approaches within future funding opportunities. Reporting on the portfolio of investments in alternative methods is planned for 2026.The Office for Life Sciences is also working with the Regulatory Innovation Office, industry and regulators in developing plans to support robust AI and machine learning model development for safety and toxicity testing.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the olicy paper: Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, how much of the £8 million from DSIT’s new Sovereign AI Unit has been spent on OpenBind to date.
UKRI will report on its portfolio of investments in alternative methods, including any AI focused methods, in 2026. The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators on progress across all elements of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, later in 2026.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, by what date in 2926 does she expect the first round of the Validation Accelerator grants to be launched.
The Validation Accelerator grant commitment is being led by UKRI and will be delivered through a number of mechanisms, For example, Innovate UK’s £2 million Contracts for Innovation: Industrial Human‑Relevant Drug Models competition, launched in February 2026, supports the development and commercialisation of non‑animal methods to assess the pre‑clinical pharmacokinetics and cardiovascular safety of new medicines.Validation Accelerators will be coordinated by the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM), once it is established. £30 million has been allocated to support its establishment and delivery.