Universities and businesses call on Chancellor to invest in innovation for growth

28 October 2022

A year ago, the Russell Group wrote to the Chancellor urging him to use the 2021 Spending Review to put research and innovation at the heart of the Government’s plan for growth by setting out a long term, strategic plan to increase investment in R&D.

Thankfully, the Government listened and committed to invest £20bn a year by 2024/25, but fast forward 12 months, current economic turbulence means uncertainty over whether it can be maintained.

Research has delivered countless innovations that have improved our lives and the economy, though they are too often taken for granted. The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine proved just how necessary it is to invest in research for the future. It saved lives, unlocked our communities and helped the Chancellor save billions of pounds by enabling him to draw a close to the furlough scheme and other Covid mitigations.

Every pound of public spending on R&D also crowds in around two pounds fifty of private investment, meaning a return on investment of £50bn a year in private spending if the country continues with the £20bn commitment.

The new Prime Minister and Chancellor team face arguably more difficult economic decisions than during the pandemic, but, if the right fiscal path is taken the recovery is within our grasp.

Investment in R&D will fuel new business, jobs and growth right across the country, which is why we have joined a group of universities and industry partners in writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on this new administration to keep their spending commitments on R&D investment.

You can read the letter, coordinated by University Alliance and signed by university and business leaders, here.

The Russell Group's proposals science and innovation-led growth ahead of the Autumn Statement can be found here.