Sector calls on the Government to protect R&D funds in the autumn budget

Dear Chancellor,

It has been positive to hear the Government recognise the value of UK Research & Development (R&D) in growing the economy and tackling many of the big challenges facing society, including in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper published this week.

What we have heard from Lord Vallance and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in recent weeks is cause for optimism about the future for UK research. It is exciting to see the direction R&D is headed in the planned spending review next year. However, it’s important that the Government doesn’t undermine the long-term ability of R&D to contribute to economic growth and improving public services through decisions made in the short term.

This month’s budget is a critical moment. We recognise that there are difficult decisions to be made with the public finances, but it is vital that our long-term ability to grow the economy isn’t undermined by the false economy of short-term cuts.  

Reports of a re-profiling of investment leading to additional costs in DSIT’s 2025/26 budget, with no extra financing provided to cover a shortfall, are very concerning. It would mean deep cuts across other parts of R&D investment, with significant negative consequences for the UK’s world-leading R&D sector, putting the brakes on growth and undermining confidence.Cutting UK R&D now would be a false economy, the sector would lose stability, lose expertise, and lose momentum.

We urge you to use the budget and spending review to commit to continued investment in R&D and signal, at home and abroad, that the UK is serious about R&D’s role in contributing to sustained economic growth.

Doing so will fuel economic growth and boost productivity, enabling researchers and innovators to continue driving the high-skill sectors and cutting-edge technologies that will help shape the UK’s future. 

Crucially, certainty around stable public investment will also help leverage the private investment needed to achieve the Government’s ambitions for growth.