Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

8. What progress his Department has made on reducing red tape since the UK’s departure from the EU.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

14. What progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform report published on 16 June 2021.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I call Chris Stephens. Not here.

[Theresa Villiers]

Will the Government make progress on the TIGRR recommendation to replace the EU clinical trials directive with a new modern framework to ensure that people can access life-saving treatments quickly and that our world-leading medical research sector can thrive?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her terrific work on the TIGRR report to provide so many ideas for the Government. I assure her that I am working closely with the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), who was also involved in the TIGRR report and now has ministerial responsibility in many of the medical-related areas. The consultation on the proposals to reform UK legislation on clinical trials to protect the interests of participants while providing a more streamlined and flexible regime to make it easier and faster to run trials closed on 14 March 2022. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is analysing the more than 2,000 responses that were received and preparing the Government response. There is great urgency behind this work.