Response to £484m additional R&D investment

In a speech to the CBI today the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has set out his plan for innovation in the UK. At the same time in a Written Ministerial Statement, Science Minister George Freeman announced a raft of funding measures aimed at the UK’s R&D sector.

Commenting on the announcements and speech, CaSE Executive Director, Professor Sarah Main, said:

“The Government has moved to bolster its stance on research and innovation today with a speech by the Prime Minister on innovation and an announcement1 from the Science Minister of £484m for R&D. These funds are intended to mitigate the effect of the ongoing impasse in negotiations on association to European research programmes, and it appears likely the Government have redeployed some of the funds set aside for association for this purpose. We welcome measures to counteract uncertainty, including those aimed at retaining talent in the UK. However, the best outcome would be finalising an association deal.

“The Prime Minister spoke about the importance of innovation for growth and public services in his speech to the CBI this morning. International collaboration, especially with our nearest neighbours, is a foundation stone of research and innovation. The Prime Minister now has an opportunity to deliver on his innovation ambitions by building on his reset of relations with European leaders to cement this vital partnership on research and innovation between the EU and UK.”

Notes

Written Ministerial Statement by Science Minister George Freeman – https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-11-21/hcws376

The measures announced:

“The investments announced today include:

£30m Talent and Research Stabilisation Fund.

£100m Quality-Related (QR) funding for English universities with additional funding for the Devolved Administrations.

£200m for UK Research Infrastructures.

£42.1m for the Fusion Industry Programme.

£84m for Joint European Torus (JET) Operations.”