Medicines Manufacturing Industry

Lord Allan of Hallam Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The UK holds the number one spot for life sciences investment in Europe, second only to the United States globally. However, the noble Lord is right about ensuring that we have the skilled talent pool across the industry and from academia and our health service to continue that growth. The Life Sciences Vision sets out our commitment to developing a strong talent pool across all those areas and the Government have developed several skills programmes that are delivering against our commitments by developing a pipeline of onshore talent, including through supporting apprenticeships and improving access to talent from overseas.

[Lord Allan of Hallam (LD)]

My Lords, the report referred to in the Question highlights the incredible success of Ireland in establishing itself as a global pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. Can the Minister explain what steps the Government are taking to learn from Ireland’s success and apply some of those lessons to the United Kingdom?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Of course, we keep an eye on what is happening around the world to ensure that we maintain our competitive edge but, as I said, we are second only to the United States for life sciences investment. We are supported by a mature and sophisticated capital market and the second biggest hub for private equity and venture capital after the US, so we have many advantages to be proud of as well.