Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria were used in the the decision making process which led to the award of £126 million to experimental vaccines at Oxford University and Imperial College London and the rejection of funding for vaccine projects at Bristol University and Nottingham University.

In Oxford and Imperial, we have two of the global front-runners in C-19 vaccine development. The teams at Oxford University and Imperial College are the most progressed in terms to developing a vaccine candidate and entering clinical trials, in the UK. As such, the Vaccine Taskforce has worked to ensure that Oxford and Imperial receive the investment from BEIS and DHSC to accelerate the development of a successful COVID19 vaccine.

The Vaccines Taskforce will continue to review and engage with other candidates and the Government is rightly proud of the work that many of our academic institutions are conducting in response to COVID 19.