Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to support the maintenance of links between regulators, research ethics committees, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry in the UK and the European Medicines Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

The Department has always made clear its intention to retain a close working partnership with the European Union, in the interest of ensuring patients continue to have timely access to safe medicines and medical innovations. This includes maintaining a strong working relationship with the European Medicines Agency on all aspects of the life sciences sector.

It is of mutual benefit for the EU to collaborate closely with such a well-developed life sciences market in the United Kingdom. Both sides will always be stronger by working in partnership.