Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation response to Don’t fail to scale: seizing the opportunity of engineering biology

This is the government's response, published 17 March 2025.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government notes the Committee's conclusions and recommendations, agrees that engineering biology offers significant potential for economic growth, and sets out existing and planned actions, while recognising "there is more to do".

• It agrees on the sector's potential and says it recognises "the need for urgency" to strengthen the UK's position, with the ability of companies to scale up in the UK described as central.
• On regulation, it cites the Regulatory Innovation Agency, with engineering biology as one of its four early priority areas, and says the second round of the EB Sandbox Fund will open in April 2025.
• On infrastructure for scale-up, it is "working closely with the EB Advisory Panel to understand how different models for infrastructure have strengths and weaknesses"; no firm infrastructure commitment is stated.
• On funding, it points to the Mansion House Compact, reforms to the British Business Bank, and the National Wealth Fund with £5.8 billion of additional funding, raising its total capitalisation to £27.8 billion.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error