Royal Society responds to Autumn Statement

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, today announced a £375 million Emerging Powers Research Fund for international scientific collaboration as part of the Autumn Statement.

In response to the announcement, Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society said:

“International collaboration is essential to progress in science.  The UK has arguably the best scientists in the world and the emerging scientific powers bring their own skills to the table, in many cases backed by large scale investment.  The fund announced by the Chancellor today will allow the UK to further capitalise on our competitive advantage in science to drive forward our own economic interests and global advances in areas such as health and energy.”

The fund will be made up of £75 million a year over 5 years.  The first element of the fund was announced by the Prime Minister earlier this week on his trip to China.  £100 million was allocated for collaboration between UK and Chinese scientists with the sum matched by the Chinese government.

This followed a visit by the President of the Royal Society, Paul Nurse to China in September.  During the visit the President met Madame Liu Yandong, the Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, and discussed the potential for greater collaboration between scientists in the two countries.