What does the 2024 King’s Speech mean for R&D?

On Wednesday July 17th His Majesty King Charles III delivered a speech to both Houses of Parliament to mark the State Opening of Parliament. The speech outlined the new Government’s legislative agenda for the year and provided the opportunity for the Government to signal its priorities over the coming years.

Although the speech had relatively little legislation of direct relevance to the R&D sector, R&D and innovation will need to play an important role in achieving many of the new Government’s ambitions. Below we unpack some of the main Bills.

Economic growth

There was a significant focus on economic growth throughout the speech, stating that it will be a “fundamental mission”. The Government re-stated its plan to establish an Industrial Strategy Council, but this was unaccompanied by any legislation. Labour’s industrial strategy has four stated central missions: delivering clean power by 2030, caring for the future, harnessing data for the public good and building a resilient economy. While the Government has not stated it explicitly, R&D and innovation will be vital to achieving all of these missions.

Education and skills

It is positive to see a prominent focus given to skills. The Government will establish Skills England, which will aim to bring together businesses, education providers, unions, national government and Mayoral Combined Authorities to identify skills needs and ensure that skills policy is aligned with the wider needs of the economy. This is a welcome initiative that will help to provide a more holistic approach to education and skills necessary to support a globally competitive R&D and innovation sector. CaSE has previously called on the Government to support and coordinate a more integrated skills system to support a thriving R&D sector.

There was nothing specific on Higher Education in the speech. As we outline in our new briefing, universities are a vital component of a thriving talent and skills system, but they are under significant financial pressure. We urge the new Government to address the financial sustainability of universities to ensure they can deliver their role in the R&D system effectively.

Place

The English Devolution Bill aims to fulfil Labour’s ambitions to further advance devolution in England. The new legislation will allow local leaders to formally request more powers over strategic planning, local transport networks, skills, and employment support. This will support local growth plans that bring economic benefit to communities. There is a role for R&D to support local growth plans and CaSE has previously called for giving regions greater freedom to make decisions about local innovation programmes.