The Government is committed to the development of alternatives to using animals in scientific procedures and through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) continues to provide core funding for the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of non-animal technologies.

UKRI funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies, including a joint £4.7 million joint funding call with the NC3Rs launched last year, focussed on supporting next generation non-animal technologies, such as organ-on-a-chip.

The Government is clear that the use of animals in science is justified, for the benefits it brings to human, animal and environmental health and safety.

The Government is committed to assuring that those animals used in science are protected. The legal framework in the UK requires that animals are only ever used in scientific procedures where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit.

The Government continues to actively support and fund alternatives to the use of animals. The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) leads on developing and sharing techniques in the UK and internationally.

Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has invested £77 million in research towards developing new approaches to Replace, Reduce and Refine the use of animals in scientific procedures, and an additional £32 million through its CRACK IT programme for SMEs and universities to work with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries on collaborative 3Rs projects that aim to generate commercial opportunities in this area.

The Government is clear that the use of animals in science is justified, for the benefits it brings to human, animal and environmental health and safety.

The Government is committed to assuring that those animals used in science are protected. The legal framework in the UK requires that animals are only ever used in scientific procedures where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit.

The Government continues to actively support and fund alternatives to the use of animals. The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) leads on developing and sharing techniques in the UK and internationally.

Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has invested £77 million in research towards developing new approaches to Replace, Reduce and Refine the use of animals in scientific procedures, and an additional £32 million through its CRACK IT programme for SMEs and universities to work with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries on collaborative 3Rs projects that aim to generate commercial opportunities in this area.

Non-human primates are only used in scientific research where absolutely necessary. Non-human primates play an important role in the public safety testing of novel pharmaceuticals prior to human trials, fulfilling international guidelines and national regulatory requirements. All imports of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) into the UK are controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), by way of their listing on CITES Appendix II. To meet our obligations under CITES, all applications for import are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and only allowed for scientific research purposes where we are confident the imports will not have a harmful effect on conservation status of the species. The UK Government has no plans under CITES to end the import of long-tailed macaques for scientific research where they are the most appropriate and scientifically justified species.

Non-human primates are only used in research where absolutely necessary and where they are considered the most appropriate and scientifically justified species. They play an important role in the public safety testing of novel pharmaceuticals prior to human trials, fulfilling international guidelines and national regulatory requirements.

The import of non-human primates is controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Captive-bred specimens may be traded under CITES rules, including first generation offspring bred in a controlled environment where at least one parent was sourced from the wild.

CITES allows for the introduction of wild sourced specimens into captive breeding facilities to reduce the effects of inbreeding in the captive population. Any introduction must be in line with CITES requirements, including having no detrimental impact on the species survival in the wild and being in line with any domestic laws. Where the UK Government is confident that these conditions have been met, imports will be permitted.

Between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) recorded 1142 live long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) as being imported into the UK from Mauritius. All were captive-bred (Source C) and were imported using purpose code M (bio-medical research).

APHA did not issue any import permits for wild (source W) or first-generation captive bred (source F) specimens in 2020.

A further 122 captive-bred live macaques were imported in early 2021 using Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species permits issued in 2020.

The requirement of EU Directive 2010/63/EU that non-human primates cannot be sourced from the wild for breeding within a self-sustaining colony is already implemented for Marmosets, as stated in the UK legislation.

The UK legislation presently requires that all non-human primates used in research are bred specifically for research, so wild caught animals cannot not be used for procedures.

Establishments that have a licence to breed other primate species must have a strategy in place to increase the proportion of primates bred from primates bred in captivity.

As part of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and the Government’s commitment to maintaining the UK’s position as a world leader in research and innovation, we are investing in identifying better ways to treat and prevent disease and to advance the health of people worldwide.

Advances in biomedical science and technologies – including stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques – are all providing new opportunities to support scientific human-relevant research.

This Government promotes advances in biomedical science and technologies that include stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques.

These advances are providing new opportunities to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research. Animals can only be used where there is no practicable alternatives and where the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) have been fully implemented. There are no plans to legislate for conducting human-relevant science.

I thank my hon. Friend and congratulate those schools in Crawley that took part in STEMfest and my hon. Friend, who is an excellent constituency Member of Parliament, on his continuing support for that valuable event. Such events provide students with an insight to future STEM careers and the importance of STEM to the UK economy. I hope those students who took part will be inspired to continue to study STEM subjects in the next stage of their education and beyond.

The Government do not hold the information you have requested. The Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and reporting actual severity. From data collected, the Home Office will provide clarity on the burden of harm and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.

It is important to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a small percentage of the total.

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) was established by the Government in May 2004 to advance and promote the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals used in research and testing (the 3Rs). The NC3Rs primarily receives Government funding through BIS from the science and research ring-fenced budget via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The projected budget for the NC3Rs is £7.88 million in 2014-15 and £7.84 million in 2015-16.

BBSRC also provides further funding for the 3Rs under its responsive mode schemes, and the MRC and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council support research projects which contribute to the development of new knowledge and new methods that help replace or refine animal use. However, figures on future spend are not available.

For a detailed breakdown of past funding I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column 167W.