“What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential merits of designating genomics databases as critical national infrastructure.”
Asked by
Mr Alistair Carmichael
Answering Minister
the Minister for the Cabinet Office
Answer from Hansard
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)
Genomics is a great British success story, and our genomics databases are vital for world-leading life sciences and health research. The organisations that have such databases have to provide data protection and security training, and have to make sure that researchers can access data only for approved purposes. The opportunities come with risks, which is why the Government will always try to minimise the risks of biological data to protect our bio-economy. We are working on this issue across Government Departments and through our national security structures.