Contribution
It is lovely to be back speaking in the Chamber in a debate on a welcome Budget for the life sciences. If you will indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to put on my pharmacy hat and geek out a bit about the life sciences announcements in this Budget. We have more than £1 billion of private investment in the sector, backed by nearly £70 million of Government funding, supporting 1,000 jobs. We have £500 million in a new research hub in Manchester for Convatec, which makes stoma care products. We have £300 million in a research facility in Oxfordshire for Vertex. We have £200 million in Loughborough for manufacturing respiratory medicines, including the new generation of inhalers. Closer to home, just yesterday Ministers announced £21 million for the west midlands clinical commercial catalyst, with Coventry University among the partners. That is investment in British research, in manufacturing, and in skilled people who work in both sectors.
I also welcome the Chancellor’s decision to remove VAT on orphan drugs—rare disease treatments—providing direct care for compassionate use and early access schemes. That will make it easier for people to access new treatments and continue their care. However, access is not only about the newest treatments; it is also about people’s ability to get the medicines on which they already depend. We heard recently that Europe’s last fully integrated medicine factory, in Austria, is considering closing down, due to Chinese competition. That should make us think carefully about where our medicines come from, because in Britain we rely heavily on medicines and active ingredients from India and China. With tariffs returning and global supply chains becoming increasingly uncertain, we cannot afford to depend on a handful of countries or factories for medicines that patients simply cannot afford.
We have seen supply problems with Creon, the pancreatic enzyme treatment used by people with cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer; with particular formulations of sodium valproate, lamotrigine and phenobarbital, medicines used to treat epilepsy; and with ramipril, a common drug used by millions of people to treat high blood pressure and heart conditions. As any pharmacist knows, missed treatments can have an impact on health, and can mean that a condition being managed at home ends in an emergency admission. That is worse for patients, and it costs the NHS more.
Although I applaud the work that the DWP is doing to help more people with health conditions into work—and I look forward to the Milburn review—if someone with epilepsy cannot reliably get their anti-seizure medication, how can we expect them to work, let alone to be productive? If someone cannot get the medicine they use to keep a heart condition stable, and as a result they become too unwell to work, how can we talk about improving Britain’s productivity? Ensuring that people can manage their health conditions, stay in work and contribute to our economy must be part of that conversation as well.
I welcome the Government’s £520 million life sciences innovative manufacturing fund and the Chancellor’s additional £20.4 billion of financial capacity for the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank. The Government have made a strong start in attracting investment, but we also need to be strategic and proactive about where that investment goes. I therefore ask Treasury Ministers, Health Ministers and Business Ministers to work together to establish which essential medicines and ingredients are more critical, where our supply chains are most vulnerable, and where manufacturing in Britain can make the biggest difference. Let us then use some of that finance to attract private investment and build up our manufacturing capacity before the next shortage becomes a crisis. We have excellent scientists and researchers; let us make sure that we have the capacity to make and reliably supply the medicines on which patients depend.
Finally, I want to say a little about what the Budget means for my constituents. More than 40,000 local people are set to benefit from the £100 payment towards their energy bills this winter, and that help is very welcome. For those working in our shops, pubs and care homes, the increase in the national living wage to £13.21 next April will mean more money in their pockets. I particularly welcome the additional business rate relief for our high streets, supporting the independent shops, cafés and pubs that are so important to our communities, along with the removal of the relief from vape shops. Our high streets are about more than shopping; they are places where neighbours meet, where local people make a living, and where we take pride in our communities.