The Russell Group’s Budget submission called on ministers to maximise the impact of existing £20bn spending plans, by removing blocks to capital investment and targeted spending to strengthen the UK’s research base.
Speaking ahead of the Budget, Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, called on the Chancellor to prioritise areas like university research, which deliver proven economic returns for the UK. New analysis by London Economics published last week revealed every £1 invested on Russell Group research in 2021/22 delivered £8.50 of economic impact.
The Russell Group’s submission to the Treasury ahead of the Budget called for action to:
- Advance net zero ambitions through capital investments that improve the efficiency of university estates, enhance the UK’s R&D landscape, and enable the testing of net zero infrastructure solutions that can be scaled up by local councils.
- Remove the planning blockers to capital investment by announcing an intention to introduce a Research and Innovation Guarantee in the National Planning Framework that would fast-track key infrastructure.
- Scale up proof-of-concept funding for new, cutting-edge university spin-outs and explore new ways to back businesses in areas like AI and deep tech.
- Strengthen the UK’s research base by protecting UKRI’s share of R&D funding and, within this, UKRI’s core research budgets.
