UK Research and Innovation to Receive £55 Billion Boost to Drive Growth and Discovery

From the technology that screens airport luggage to keep travellers safe, to life-changing new medical treatments, the inventors and innovators behind Great British breakthroughs are set to benefit from a £55 billion funding boost to advance their work.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) this week confirmed long-term R&D funding allocations for the UK’s leading research agencies and institutions. The new investment will provide long-term stability and clarity, supporting science and technology breakthroughs that “improve lives and grow our economy.” DSIT’s overall R&D budget will increase in real terms under these plans.

According to new analysis published alongside the announcement, every £1 of public investment in R&D delivers £8 in net economic benefits over the long term, while each pound spent also “crowds in” a further £2 of private investment.

The Science and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, unveiled the funding allocations during a visit to IBM’s London headquarters, where she saw how private investment complements the UK’s public R&D strategy. IBM is collaborating with publicly funded researchers through UKRI’s £210 million Hartree Centre, advancing discoveries in AI, quantum computing, and clean energy. The company also supports the National Quantum Computing Centre, which now benefits from a first-of-its-kind 10-year government funding commitment.

Publicly funded research in the UK has already delivered world-changing results, including “the first cutting-edge antibody products which have transformed some cancers from a guaranteed death sentence to manageable chronic conditions.”

The government says that by investing in R&D now, it is “putting a down-payment on Britain’s future that will deliver dividends for decades to come and put money in people’s pockets, delivering on our Plan for Change.” Evidence shows that in the six years after receiving their first R&D grant, “employment increases in the average business by 21% and turnover grows by 23% relative to similar firms who didn’t get support.”

Two success stories highlighted include Oxford Nanopore, developers of the world’s first pandemic early warning system, and Cobalt Light Systems, creators of the technology used to screen liquids at airports. Both have previously received UKRI funding. Today, Oxford Nanopore is a FTSE 250-listed company, while Cobalt Light Systems’ equipment is used in over 70 airports worldwide.

Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:

“Backing our best and brightest researchers and innovators is essential. They are making the impossible, possible, from health to clean energy and beyond. Their ideas will create tomorrow’s industries, boosting growth and transforming public services now and in the future.

By investing in their work, we are backing the long-term success of the UK, by paving the way for breakthroughs that will help us all to live and work better.”

Recent publicly funded research has already made a tangible difference to “everyone’s health, wealth and wellbeing,” including:

• £129 million to support BioNTech in establishing UK R&D centres for innovative cancer medicines, unlocking £1 billion of private investment over ten years.

• £80 million for 100 nationwide research projects, from better prosthetics to improved blood clot testing.

• £44 million to deploy AI and engineering biology to make manufacturing cleaner and less wasteful.

• £32 million for novel medical scanners up to 40 times more sensitive than current models.

• £19.6 million for next-generation computing and medical scanning materials.

• Over £22 million for developing usable quantum computers that could dramatically accelerate medical discoveries.

The new funding allocations confirmed, covering the Spending Review period to 2029/2030, include:

• UKRI to deliver over £38 billion, including nearly £10 billion in 2029/2030.

• ARIA’s budget to increase from £220 million to £400 million per year by 2029/2030.

• Over £1.4 billion for the Met Office to advance climate science.

• Over £900 million for the National Academies.

• Over £550 million for the National Measurement System, and £240 million for the AI Security Institute.

Altogether, DSIT’s R&D budget will total £58.5 billion from 2026/27 to 2029/30, forming part of the government’s transformative £86 billion public R&D package announced at the Spending Review — “£55 billion of which is being detailed today.” Further R&D programmes will be confirmed in due course.