Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK Biological Security Strategy, published in June 2018, what steps she is taking to promote a responsible biological sciences research culture in the UK.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), both part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), have a position statement in place on Dual Use, jointly with the Welcome Trust https://mrc.ukri.org/research/policies-and-guidance-for-researchers/managing-risks-of-research-misuse/

The research community must take active steps to develop mechanisms of self-governance, and that through doing so researchers can ensure that responsibly conducted research is not unnecessarily obstructed. UKRI-BBSRC and UKRI-MRC also have internal processes in place to review research grant applicants where Dual Use concerns arise during the course of peer review.