£86B Science & Tech Boost to Turbocharge Economy

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a transformative £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 world-leading status in research and innovation with a bumper funding package worth more than £22.5 billion a year in 2029/2030. 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.

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.

It is those with skin in the game who know what is best for their region. That's why, through the new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, local leaders will be given the powers to decide how to target their research investment in the region and make the most of skill sets of the community, boosting high skilled jobs and igniting growth across the country, the core mission of the government's Plan for Change .

The package will see every corner of the country benefit. In Liverpool, that means leveraging its expertise in life sciences to accelerate drug discovery, in Northern Ireland that means harnessing its reputation for cutting edge defence equipment to shore up our national security. And in South Wales, it means boosting expertise in designing cutting edge semiconductors that power the devices like mobile phones and electric cars we rely on every day to support growth and new jobs in those regions.

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 3 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.

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.

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.

Alongside this, nearly £5 million is being invested to kickstart a new partnership between the high-growth regions of Manchester and Cambridge, strengthening the link between these hubs of innovation to attract more business investment, and pilot new approaches to collaboration, setting examples for cities, universities and governments worldwide.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

This is exactly how we turn our potential into progress. This investment backs regions to lead the way in the industries that will define the future.

From life sciences and advanced manufacturing to clean energy and AI, regions across the UK have the skills and the ideas - they just need the investment and the power to match.

This will drive innovation that not only grows the economy but creates jobs, builds opportunity, improves health and changes lives.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:

Our region is already an advanced manufacturing powerhouse and this announcement boosts my mission to create new growth, new jobs and new opportunities in 2 exciting ways.

We will now be able to support more research and development projects in established sectors, like the car industry and green energy, which are cornerstones of the North East economy, and we can also invest in new technologies from kitchen table innovations to our fast-emerging trailblazers in the space industry and AI.

Notes

The fund would give dedicated awards of at least £30 million to each of the 7 Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England - Greater Manchester, West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East, and Greater London as well as to one equivalent region in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be agreed with devolved governments. The fund will also include a competition, which will be open to all other parts of the UK. This will similarly support high potential innovation clusters to grow, and be based on a principle of co-creation with UKRI. This will allow us build on the strengths that we know exist across the country.

Following a review of the Treasury's Green Book, the Chancellor to invest billions in the regions to support economic growth, making deliberate choices to stabilise the public finances in invest in Britain's renewal. This announcement on R&D follows on the back off £15.6 billion of government investment in local transport in city regions in the North, Midlands and South West, which also empowers local leaders to make the best investment decisions for their areas which they know best and ensure value for money.

The ONS has estimated 2.8 million people are employed in occupations essential to R&D activities across all sectors in 2023: R&D skills supply and demand: long-term trends and workforce projections - GOV.UK .

The Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership will be led by Research England on behalf of UKRI. It includes a £4.8 million investment over 3 years which embeds place-based growth, led by the universities of Cambridge and Manchester.