MP Chris Vince urges Chancellor Rachel Reeves to choose Harlow for £3.2 billion new UK Health Security Agency headquarters
Labour MP Chris Vince is lobbying Chancellor Rachel Reeves to approve a £3.2 billion investment in a new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) headquarters in Harlow.
A move to his Harlow constituency would create around 3,000 skilled jobs, but the project to build state-of-the-art facilities hangs in the balance.
The UKHSA prevents, prepares for and responds to infectious diseases and environmental hazards.
According to the National Audit Office (NAO), sites in Porton Down in Wiltshire and Colindale in north London are nearing the end of their operational life.
In 2015, the then Conservative Government approved an outline business case for their replacement on a GlaxoSmithKline site in Harlow.
The UKHSA’s predecessor agency, Public Health England, purchased that site in the Pinnacles area for £30 million in 2017, but the programme has not yet received full business case approval.
According to the NAO’s value for money investigation published last year, costs have increased significantly and “doubts have emerged as to whether the Harlow site will be utilised”.
The Department of Health and Social Care has asked UKHSA to consider whether replacing infrastructure at existing sites is a viable alternative.
Mr Vince said: “A lot has changed since 2015. The pandemic cast a new spotlight on public health and, since then, Public Health England has undergone a complete transformation. It is now split into the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
“Since that transformation, the planned move has gone almost silent. There was no word from the outgoing MP [Conservative Robert Halfon] during his final years in office and nothing from the Conservatives since they took control of the [Harlow district] council.
“There’s a phrase in politics about ‘kicking decisions into the long grass’. The former Government was guilty of doing just that in this case.
“I hope that if we’re successful in securing this investment it will once again be welcomed by political parties of all colours, just as it was when it was first announced back in 2015.”
Mr Vince has urged Ms Reeves to put the planned move back on the table and deliver a world-class science centre for the town.
“Let me be very clear: this is by no means a done deal. The original 2015 investment was for £400m; since then, the estimated cost has risen to £3.2 billion,” he said.
“If we are successful and the Government gives the development the green light, it would be one of the biggest investments in Harlow since its creation in 1947.”
He told the Chancellor: “These facilities are essential for the NHS and are a vital part of the UK’s security infrastructure in a world of increasing insecurity and current and emerging biological threats to our security.”
The Treasury is currently carrying out a spending review, and the Chancellor responded: “A new site in Harlow is one of the options being considered.
“This Government understands the pressing need for a decision to be made, and if a new facility is not built at Harlow, I would like to reassure you that we will ensure the site is used so the people of Harlow get the best possible outcome in terms of jobs and public service infrastructure.”