§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people work in the biotechnology sector, broken down by type of work. [121748]
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§ Ms HewittThe information requested is not available from official statistics. In its memorandum last year to the Trade and Industry Select Committee Inquiry into the 'UK Biotechnology Industry', the Department provided an estimate of 18,400 biotechnology sector specialists present in the UK. The most recent information available to the Department suggests that this figure is now approximately 23,000. It is not possible to break down this information by job function. Because of the lack of a generally accepted definition for biotechnology, it is not possible to provide more precise figures.