Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what structures his Department has in place to ensure that (a) the Life Sciences Organisation and (b) the Office for Life Sciences co-ordinate with the MHRA and National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

Since April 2014 the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) has operated as a joint Director-led unit between the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and the Department of Health. The previous good working relationships between the OLS and MHRA and NICE have been strengthened through this move, as all these bodies are now either part of or sponsored by the Department of Health and all three fall within my Ministerial portfolio.

The UKTI Life Sciences Organisation (LSO) also has strong working relationships with MHRA and NICE, both directly and through the OLS, largely operating on an informal basis rather than within particular structures.