UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce an £86 billion in the Spending Review to turbo-charge our fastest growing sectors, from tech and life sciences, to advanced manufacturing and defence, as part of the Government’s plan to invest in Britain’s renewal through our Modern Industrial Strategy.
Britain will boost its status in research and innovation with a bumper funding package worth more than £22.5bn a year by 2029/30. From exploring new drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries, to new AI breakthroughs, the package will drive new jobs and economic growth, as well as ensuring the UK leads the way in pioneering the technologies of the future.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "Britain is the home of science and technology. Through the Plan for Change, we are investing in Britain’s renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off.”
It comes ahead of the Spending Review, where the Chancellor will set out how the government will invest in Britain’s renewal by investing in the people’s priorities: health, security and the economy. The Chancellor will outline this government’s laser focus on investing in Britain’s renewal through projects that will bring jobs and prosperity, putting more money in working people’s pockets.
The new R&D package will mean local leaders have government backing to develop ‘innovation clusters’ across the country, to unlock the talent and opportunity in every region and nation.
Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said: “R&D is the very foundation of the breakthroughs that make our lives easier and healthier – from new medicines enabling us to live longer, more fulfilled lives to developments in AI giving us time back, from easing our train journeys through to creating the technology we need to protect our planet from climate change.
“Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding – helping to deliver the economic growth at the centre of our Plan for Change.”
The new funding will build on work already underway to transform local communities through the Innovation Accelerator pilot scheme – a new funding approach and partnership between local authorities and government. It has supported new technology developed by the Greater Manchester advanced diagnostic accelerator, delivering quicker and cheaper detection for liver, heart and lung diseases, whilst Moonbility from the West Midlands is using AI software helping train companies to simulate, in real time, potential disruption to the network so they can alert passengers on delay length, giving advice on replanning journeys.
This Government is making investments in Britain’s future that will deliver dividends for decades to come. Every £1 invested in R&D generates up to £7 in benefits to the UK economy and leverages double in private investment in the long run, with businesses that receive their first R&D grant funding seeing jobs and turnover go up by over 20% in the following years – providing a major boost to the UK economy. R&D is also at the heart of around three million jobs in the UK, with the power to create many more as discoveries advance.
The announcement comes ahead of London Tech Week, the UK’s flagship technology festival, with more expected in the coming days, as this government doubles down on plans to ensure the UK is once again open for business and setting the conditions for a decade of national renewal and the economic growth that is at the heart of our Plan for Change.
