Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide transitional funding to help prevent the closure of surveillance laboratories.

The UK recognises the role that surveillance laboratories play in early detection and response to infectious disease threats. We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.