Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 27 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, how his Department plans to allocate funding to help tackle biological (a) incidents, (b) accidents and (c) attacks.

The Network of Biosecurity Centres will strengthen and formalise the strong existing collaborations between the UK Health Security Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It will ensure we are better prepared for a crisis, can respond more effectively when an incident does happen, and deliver a more holistic, One Health and National Security approach to biological research.

The Network will support the Centres’ development and operation, with investment in the laboratory facilities of more than £1bn over the next four years to ensure we have the capabilities we need. Initial steps will include agreeing collaboration priorities, such as operation standards and skills development.

The Cabinet Office oversees implementation of the UK Biological Security Strategy. That includes ensuring we have the capabilities across government to protect the public from a spectrum of biological risks, no matter how they occur and no matter who or what they affect. Funding to tackle specific biological risks is based on the UK ‘Lead Government Department (LGD)’ model. Designated LGDs are responsible for leading work to identify serious risks, and ensuring that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place - including the prioritisation of departmental spending to ensure the right capabilities are in place to mitigate risks, within allocated budgets.

The UK Biological Security Strategy is clear that a thriving life sciences sector is key to our biological security. The government has committed £380 million to engineering biology and £2bn to life sciences over the spending review period.

At the publication of the UK Biological Security Strategy in June 2023, we committed to update Parliament annually on the progress made to implement the Strategy. The government published its first UK Biosecurity Strategy Implementation report in July 2025, which sets out the range of short term commitments delivered. The report is available here.