How did the Government do at the Spending Review?
01 Nov 2021
In the run-up to the Comprehensive Spending Review, CaSE published its five-point roadmap, which formed the centrepiece of our asks from the review. The roadmap sets out the best route towards cementing the UK’s role as a ‘science superpower’, as well as warning of the wrong turns to avoid at each step of the journey.
With the Spending Review announced by the Chancellor last week, CaSE has taken the opportunity to rate the review against each of the five points. This follows on from our analysis on what the review means for science and engineering.
The Spending Review means that public investment in R&D is set to rise substantially to £20bn by 2024/25, a 34% increase from 2021/22. However, this settlement falls short of the UK Government’s own ambitions of reaching £22bn by 2024/25, with this target now being pushed back to 2026/27 and into the next Parliament.





Read our five-point roadmap to making the UK a 'science superpower'
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CaSE have written to the Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Julia Lopez MP, to express concern and ask for clarity surrounding their policy position that would see a reduction of UKRI funding by £2 billion per year.
UKRI has replied to CaSE’s letter asking for further clarity on some key areas following discourse surrounding their new funding model and the specific impact of some changes to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Analysis of ‘high-level mapping’ of the new UKRI ‘buckets’ system and what they tell us about UK R&D funding.