The King's Fund responds to the Labour Party’s plans for the UK life sciences sector

Responding to the Labour Party’s plans for the UK life sciences sector, Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, said: 

‘This is an ambitious and welcome vision. A thriving UK life sciences sector can bring real benefits for people, making it easier and quicker to get the latest treatments from the laboratory to patients. 

‘Making life sciences a key responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is a welcome proposal and would help cement the link between the life sciences industry and health and care services. It is also good to see a recognition that current approaches to clinical trials can entrench health inequalities by inadvertently excluding some communities from trials. Making it easier for people to take part in research, wherever they live, would increase diversity and be a welcome step.  

‘Turning the ambitions set out in this plan into reality will require detailed thinking on how to overcome knotty issues, such as building public trust so health data can be used for innovations and achieving the long-held ambition of better-connected IT systems to share that data. Similarly, the commitment to provide long-term budget certainty to life sciences is a welcome ambition, although history tells us it can be hard to deliver. This plan sets out many welcome goals – implementing the necessary changes to achieve those goals will be the real challenge.’ 

Notes to editors

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact the Press and Public Affairs team on 020 7307 2585.

The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.