Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to increase the availability of scale-up capital for life science companies.

The Government is strongly committed to the success of the Life Sciences in the UK and is already taking action in key areas to consolidate and build on the strength of the sector. Government welcomes the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy recently launched by Sir John Bell and will respond through a sector deal negotiation.

As part of this commitment, the Government is working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access the finance and wider support they need to grow and have the right conditions for companies to invest long-term. Through the British Business Bank (BBB) Venture Capital Catalyst Fund a £400m expansion was announced at Autumn Statement 2016, which aims to crowd in a total of £1bn for companies looking to scale up.

In addition, work is continuing through HM Treasury’s Patient Capital Review to look into long-term investment in innovative companies with life sciences featuring highly. The Department is working closely with HM Treasury and recommendations from the review will be made to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for the Autumn Budget.