Laboratories

(asked on 13th October 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many biosafety level 4 labs are located in the UK.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 18th October 2023

There are 9 facilities located in the UK that contain laboratories operating at Containment Level 4. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the regulator of workplace health and safety in Great Britain does not specifically record data based on the Office for National Statistic’s definition of ‘urban areas’ but can confirm that most Containment Level 4 facilities are based away from population centres.

HSE is responsible for the regulatory frameworks and oversight of the handling of pathogens and genetically modified organisms and for enforcing biosafety standards in high level containment facilities. The approach to biosafety enforced by HSE is underpinned by formal notification requirements and well-established risk-based regulatory frameworks designed to facilitate the effective and proportionate management of the risks that exist at facilities where work is undertaken with dangerous pathogens.

Reticulating Splines