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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(18 June 2026)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the level of Sovereign Capability in Toxicology.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

Answer

The Government has contributed through toxicologists in several Government departments or agencies in a report compiled by the British Toxicology Society (BTS), which is available at the following link:

https://www.thebts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/BTS-Phase-1-Education-and-skills-gap-project-report.pdf

This report identified gaps in toxicological expertise in the United Kingdom, including in Government bodies. As a result, BTS put in place an initiative called the BTS skills gap initiative, with several Government departments and agencies on the advisory board, to expand toxicological training in the UK. This initiative started in 2024 and has been successful, resulting in an expansion of the number of training courses available. Further information on the initiative is available at the following link:

https://www.thebts.org/skills-gap-initiative/


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Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.