Draft Medical Devices (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2026

Danny Chambers Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 General Committees

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

I am very glad to be here to speak about medical devices and life sciences, because not only are they about solving many of the problems we are facing as a country, such as antimicrobial resistance in treating diseases, but they are a fantastic way of growing our economy. We welcome the fact that the Government acknowledged that the initial plans would have disproportionately affected small and medium-sized businesses. Like all SMEs around the country, they are struggling with everything from soaring energy prices to national insurance and Brexit red tape.

It is vital that we reach a balance, and the Minister spoke well on this. It is imperative that funding is sufficient for the MHRA to regulate the market effectively, and we do not want to deter medical technology companies from investing in the UK. That is why we have called continually for a bespoke customs union with the EU to slash red tape and for a major boost to research and development funding, all of which would hugely benefit the life sciences sector.

Will the Minister confirm that the Government are fully confident—with some sort of impact assessment or study to show this—that the adapted fee structure will not be overly punitive to business, and SMEs in particular, and will not end up inadvertently reducing the investment in and growth of medtech in the UK?