BEIS surrenders £1.6bn R&D funding to treasury

Released yesterday (21 February 2023), the Central Government Supply Estimates showed that the funds, which had previously been allocated for EU research programme Horizon Europe and Euratom, or domestic alternatives, had been unused and were to be ‘surrendered’.

With the government having previously confirmed its dedication to increasing R&D spending and promising to protect science and innovation from budget cuts – a welcome commitment from the UK research community – many have now spoken out in criticism of this latest blow to the sector.

“The government's reversal of this position with today's withdrawal of £1.6bn for R&D undermines the Prime Minister's assertions about the importance of science and innovation to the UK's future and the creation, only this month, of a new department to pursue this agenda,” commented Prof. Sarah Main, executive director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE).

“The government must follow through its ambition for science and innovation with coordinated action and investment across government, not reversals and false starts. Can the Prime Minister now set out how he plans to mitigate this loss and put science and engineering at the heart of the UK's future?”