Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2024 to Question 16314 on Laboratories: Disease Control, what the budget was for Porton Down in each of the last five years; how much has been allocated for future years; and what plans she has to ensure the long-term (a) sustainability and (b) effectiveness of Porton Down.

The UK Health Security Agency’s Porton Down and Colindale scientific campus sites do not have separate operational costs for the Category 4 laboratories. Spend on the maintenance and operation of these sites is provided through the spending review process.

Work is ongoing to establish the most robust approach for continued delivery of the high-quality science at Porton Down