8 hours ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
NI to receive £30m from Government's £86bn science and tech fund
It is part of a £86bn research and design (R&D) fund to be announced in Wednesday's spending review, aimed at boosting innovation across the UK.
Part of this is a Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, which will provide awards of at least £30m to seven 'established mayoral strategic authorities' in England, as well as to one equivalent region in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It is anticipated that the funding award for NI will go towards our defence manufacturing sector.
Chancellor 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,' she said.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology 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.'
Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood welcomed the announcement.
'Northern Ireland is a fantastic place to do business, with many start-ups as well as established companies. This funding will boost economic growth and spur on innovation,' she said.
'In my constituency of Lagan Valley, companies like Cirdan have already benefited from the UK Investment Fund and are leading the way in innovations in medicine, which are improving life for people around the world.
'I'm certain that this money will allow other businesses throughout Northern Ireland to thrive in the same way.
'Lagan Valley is strategically located along the Belfast-Dublin economic corridor and is already home to many businesses that will be able to benefit from this funding in a way that will improve regional economic balance.'
