<p>There are 9 facilities located in the UK that contain laboratories operating at Containment Level 4. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the regulator of workplace health and safety in Great Britain does not specifically record data based on the Office for National Statistic’s definition of ‘urban areas’ but can confirm that most Containment Level 4 facilities are based away from population centres.</p><p> </p><p>HSE is responsible for the regulatory frameworks and oversight of the handling of pathogens and genetically modified organisms and for enforcing biosafety standards in high level containment facilities. The approach to biosafety enforced by HSE is underpinned by formal notification requirements and well-established risk-based regulatory frameworks designed to facilitate the effective and proportionate management of the risks that exist at facilities where work is undertaken with dangerous pathogens.</p>