| Label | Content |
|---|---|
| Meeting: | MQT on 17 September 2014 |
| Session name: | MQT on 17/09/2014 between 10:00 and 13:00 |
| Reference: | 2014/3241 |
| Question by: | Andrew Dismore |
| Organisation: | Labour Group |
| Asked of: | The Mayor |
| Category: | Health |
Question
Health Protection Agency
Are you aware that Public Health England (PHE) has informed staff at its Colindale site that it will be recommending to the Government that PHE consolidates its operations at the former GSK facility in Harlow. This means closure of the Colindale site, beginning in 2016. If this closure is allowed to go ahead, this will be a major blow to Colindale and the 1,000 staff who work there. The work done at Colindale is world classand vital to the protection of the public. Will you make representations to PHE that this work and these jobs should stay in Colindale, bearing in mind the large loss of jobs already at other sites in Colindale that have been or are being developed as housing?
Answer
I am aware that the PHE Board is recommending to Government that their facilities and support services are relocated to Harlow to create a National Science Hub at the former GlaxoSmithKline campus. The Department of Health and HM Treasury will assess the recommendation and a decision is anticipated by the end of September.
My officers have been informed by Public Health England (PHE) that their decision was made in light of scientific and technological advances, increasing public expectations, higher quality and safety standards, and constraints on funding. The Colindale was not designed to meet the needs of new bio-medical science technologies and could not allow PHE to continue the UK's important international role. PHE estimate that completion of this transition will not be until 2021, and with the earliest moves to occupy refurbished areas possible in mid-2018.
Life sciences are a core priority for me and a key component of London's future business and economic growth. That is why in April of this year I launched MedCity, the remit of which is to attract the investment the sector needs to ensure London and the Greater South East is a world leading, interconnected region for life science research, development and commercialisation.
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