UK science produces enormous value for society, from COVID-19 vaccine development to technological advances that transform lives. Science is a long-term enabler of opportunity, laying the foundation for the UK's future prosperity and international competitiveness.
We need to go further if the UK is to successfully adapt to the technological and demographic trends reshaping the economy. This includes supporting skills from school through to the scientific workforce; sustaining world class research infrastructure and capability (including AI and quantum computing); supporting fundamental scientific research; sustaining strategic international scientific collaboration; and addressing key national risks – from national security through to climate change, biodiversity loss and future pandemics.
Phase 2 of the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review offers an opportunity to set out an ambitious long-term commitment to invest in UK science capability and R&D.
The Royal Society has set out five priorities for the Comprehensive Spending Review to secure sustainable growth and improve the lives of current and future generations.
Read our analysis and recommendations in our submission to the UK Government.
1. Kickstart sustained economic growth supported by stable, long-term investment and commitment to science and innovation
The Government should:
- Provide the certainty of a minimum of sustained real terms funding for research over a ten-year time horizon with a regular review cycle
- Commit to invest at least £22bn in R&D by 2026/27 to maintain confidence for investors and researchers, ensuring a healthy balance between discovery and applied research
- Set an ambition to lead the G7 in R&D intensity
- Universities and research institutions are vital engines for growth and innovation and must be put on a sustainable financial footing. The Government should implement the key recommendations from the Nurse, Grant and Tickell reviews to future-proof a competitive, dynamic and vibrant science and innovation ecosystem across all parts of the UK
- Protect and grow departmental R&D budgets to improve public services and safeguard the UK’s resilience to pandemics and other systemic emergencies
2. Show the UK is open for business to global investors and researchers
The Government should:
- Develop a single, cross-government highly visible international science strategy to increase foreign direct investment into UK science
- Reduce upfront visa fees to restore the UK’s international competitiveness in attracting research and innovation talent
3. Break down barriers to opportunity and unlock the skills of the future, including through reform of our education system
The Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review should be ambitious and consider substantial reform of the secondary and post-16 education system to offer a more expansive range of study, including:
- continuation and reform of mathematical and data education to 18 as a key engine for future growth (as set out in the Royal Society’s report A new approach to mathematical and data education)
- the creation of a more equitable single route through the sciences for all students up to age 16, with more time spent on hands-on practical science in schools
The Government should also:
- Substantially increase the current very minimal education research budget. Monitoring and evaluating the impact of education policy reforms, including from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, will ensure that these are truly effective and deliver tangible improvements for children and young people
- Immediately reverse the previous government’s cuts to professional development to retain science, maths and computing teachers
- Set out a long-term sustainable funding solution for professional development for teachers and ensure that there is sufficient funding to facilitate teachers upskilling to help fill positions in shortage areas such as Physics
4. Grow the UK’s AI, data and supercomputing capabilities (infrastructure, people and software) and provide global leadership to safely harness the benefits of AI for society
We welcome the Government’s commitment in the AI Opportunities Action Plan to increase public compute capacity by twentyfold by 2030. The Government should:
- Explore how funders, industry partners, and research institutions with computing facilities could be incentivised to actively share essential AI infrastructures such as high-performance computing power and data resources
- Ensure that investment in AI infrastructure is informed by environmentally sustainable computational science best practices, including the measurement and reporting of environmental impacts
Access to high quality data and interoperable data infrastructures will be critical for supporting the AI industry and the use of AI in scientific research. This could involve advancing access to sensitive data through privacy enhancing technologies and trusted research environments. To progress this, the Government should:
- Provide clear and easy to comply with data protection guidance for scientific researchers
- Publish a national technology strategy to promote responsible use of technology in data governance, such as Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs)
5. Taking urgent steps to protect our environment, move to clean energy and slow climate change and biodiversity loss
To secure truly sustainable growth, we must take urgent steps to protect our environment and halt climate change and biodiversity loss. The UK is well placed to demonstrate global leadership, protecting our planet for current and future generations.
The Government should:
- Urgently produce evidence-based net zero technology roadmaps to decarbonise the energy system by 2050
- Prioritise the construction of long term, large-scale energy storage facilities to match the expansion of renewable generation, ensuring the UK has year-round security of energy supply
- Ensure policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change to help to prevent and reverse biodiversity loss