Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the document entitled Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators 2023, published on 13 July 2023, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the reduction in (a) inward life sciences foreign direct investment and (b) equity finance raised by life sciences companies in 2022.

The reduction in the estimated value of inward life sciences foreign direct investment and in equity finance raised in 2022 was not unique to the UK. Other global business environments, such as the USA, also saw falls in investment and equity raised. This was in large part due to changes in the life sciences investment environment following the COVID-19 pandemic and broader economic factors. Regardless, the department is acting in the face of fierce global competition. DSIT, DHSC and the Treasury announced a package of measures in May 2023, backed by over £650 million in funding, to reverse this decline.