§ Sir Anthony GrantTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on the United Kingdom's bid to host the European Bioinformatics Institute; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI am delighted to announce that the United Kingdom has been successful in its bid to host the European Bioinformatics Institute at Cambridge. This was agreed yesterday by the governing council of the European molecular biology laboratory. The EBI is expected to be fully operational within two years. Accommodation will be provided jointly by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
Winning this bid represents a significant boost for British science. Molecular biology is an exciting and important area of modern science, with great potential for industry, and the EBI will provide researchers with vital informatics support. Securing this facility for the United Kingdom underlines our commitment to international science and will reinforce our leading position in molecular biology in Europe and beyond.