Ministers commit to £86bn for ‘breakthrough' UK science and tech R&D
New drug treatments, longer-lasting batteries and developing artificial intelligence are among research projects that will receive funding as part of an £86bn government investment into science and technology.
Ministers have announced a £22.5bn a year commitment in research and development (R&D) over the next four years, including up to £500m for regional authorities to target the investment locally.
The announcement comes before the spending review on Wednesday where Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will set out day-to-day expenditure for three years and investment spending for four years.
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.'
Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, 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.'
Ministers said the investment would boost the life sciences industry in Liverpool, the defence sector in Northern Ireland and semiconductors in south Wales. It matches a commitment made by the previous Conservative government to spend £22bn a year on R&D.
The seven mayoral strategic authorities in England – Greater Manchester, West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East and Greater London – will each receive awards of at least £30m each. The fund will also include a competition open to all other parts of the UK.
The announcement was welcomed by Richard Parker, the mayor of the West Midlands, and Kim McGuinness, the north-east mayor. McGuinness said the funds would support the car and green energy industries in her region.
The package also includes £4.8m for a partnership between Manchester and Cambridge to attract business investment.
Alongside the spending review on Wednesday, Reeves is planning to announce an overhaul of the Treasury's 'green book' – the rules that govern how public investment plans are judged. Critics say the existing rules are biased in favour of London and the south-east.
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Changing the rules will allow ministers to divert more money to areas of the north and Midlands, including the so-called red wall where Labour MPs face an electoral challenge from Reform UK.
The chancellor will put £113bn of new capital investment in homes, transport and energy at the forefront of the spending review, money which was unlocked by changes she made to the government's debt rules in October.
Ministers hope that billions in capital investment and a funding boost for the NHS will stave off disquiet over harsh cuts to day-to-day spending expected across many departments.
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