Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to unveil an £86bn funding package in the upcoming Spending Review to “turbo-charge” the UK’s fastest growing sectors, as part of the government’s modern industrial strategy.
The package, worth more than £22.5bn a year, will commence in 2029/2030 and aims to drive new jobs and economic growth as well as ensuring the UK leads the way in pioneering the technologies of the future.
The funding will support local leaders by providing government backing to develop ‘innovation clusters’ across the country.
The new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, will give local leaders the power to decide how to target their research investment in the region and make the most of skill sets of the community.
The new funding will build on the Innovation Accelerator pilot scheme, which is a new funding approach and partnership between local authorities and government.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, said that empowering the R&D sector in all regions across the UK is paramount.
“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,” Kyle said.
“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 announcement, almost £5m is being invested to kickstart a new partnership between the high-growth regions of Manchester and Cambridge.
The Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership will be led by Research England on behalf of UKRI. It includes a £4.8m investment over three years which embeds place-based growth, led by the universities of Cambridge and Manchester.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness added: “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.
“We can also invest in new technologies from kitchen table innovations to our fast-emerging trailblazers in the space industry and AI.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, also voiced support for the government’s R&D plans. “This is exactly how we turn our potential into progress,” he said.
“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.”
The Spending Review is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 11 June.
Read more: Government to set 10-year R&D funding budget
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