Cliff Notes
- The UK government will announce an £86bn funding package aimed at enhancing drug treatments and battery technology, with regional allocations of up to £500m for science and technology projects.
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves emphasised the importance of regional expertise in research, aiming to stimulate economic growth and improve job security.
- Concerns regarding a flat real-terms science budget were raised by industry leaders, who stress the need for a long-term strategy to maintain the UK’s competitive edge in research and innovation.
Spending Review 2025: Faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to come from £86bn science and tech package
Research into faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will form part of the £86bn science and technology funding due to be unveiled in the government’s spending review next week.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil how much taxpayer money each government department will get.
Each region in England will be handed up to £500m to spend on science and technology projects of their choice, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says.
In Liverpool, the funding is being earmarked to speed up the development of new drug treatments, while in South Wales, it will fund longer-lasting microchips for smartphones and electric cars.
Overall by 2030, Ms Reeves’s spending package will be worth more than £22.5bn a year, the government says.
“Britain is the home of science and technology,” she said on Sunday. “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 added: “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.”
Sources
The winners and losers in Rachel Reeves’s spending review – Sky News
What to expect in Rachel Reeves’s spend, spend, spending review – The Times