I am proud that in 1997, the then Labour Government introduced a ban on testing cosmetics on animals, which was extended to include cosmetic ingredients in 1998. This made the UK the first country in the world to implement such a ban.

I was therefore deeply concerned to learn that the Government had been issuing licences for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals since 2019, something that we only discovered because of a recent High Court case.

If Cruelty Free International had not taken the Government to court over its policy on animal testing, this would not have been brought out into the open, there would not have been a public outcry, and the Government would still be issuing licences for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals.

The Government has now said that it will stop issuing new licences, however, the ones that they have issued over the last four years remain in place. I therefore submitted the following written question:

‘To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to revoke existing licences for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals issued between 2019 and 2022.’

This question has now been answered by Tom Tugendhat, the Minister for Security, who said:

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

I am pleased that the Government is at least looking into this issue, and I hope that they will find a way to end these licences which should never have been granted in the first place.

I can assure you that I will continue to follow developments with these legacy licences closely and advocate for them to be revoked. I will also continue to support the broader transition from animal testing to New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).