Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the £650 million funding for UK life sciences announced on 25 May, what proportion of (a) new and (b) previously announced funding his Department plans to invest outside the Greater South East.

This funding will be invested across the UK. The call for proposals for the £38m biomanufacturing fund and £250m LIFTS initiative are open UK-wide. In addition: the £154m for UK Biobank will include a new facility in Manchester; £grant awarded to Sterling Pharma will be invested in their Northumberland facility; and around £20 million from the Mental Health Mission will set up demonstrator sites in Liverpool and Birmingham. Funding for skills and regulations will benefit companies across the UK and £121 million for clinical trials will support the delivery of clinical trials across England.