Written question asked by Iqbal Mohamed (Independent (affiliation)) on Monday, 7 September 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. It was answered by Chris McDonald (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Animal Experiments

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how many of the projects listed on the UKRI Gateway to Research portal awarded funding within each of the last five years involve the use of live animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Answer: The UKRI Gateway to Research portal does not record whether projects involve the use of live animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Information is held separately by individual research councils and is not available as a UKRI-wide figure. The Medical Research Council identified 181 relevant grants in 2022, 166 in 2023, 155 in 2024 and 116 in 2025. Equivalent data for 2021 are unavailable. These figures exclude relevant research supported through MRC units and institutes, which is not reportable by calendar year. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council identified 74 relevant awards in 2021, 58 in 2022, 76 in 2023, 68 in 2024 and 56 in 2025.

Secondary information