Royal Society comments on Select Committee Science Budget Report

Speaking about the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report on the science budget Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society said:

 “The Select Committee’s report hits the nail squarely on the head.  Despite the support that the Government has shown to science when faced with difficult choices about Britain’s public finances the fact remains that UK investment in research and innovation has been failing to keep pace with other leading nations."

“The UK must not jeopardise its position as a world leader in science and the associated prospects for long-term prosperity in the name of short-term savings. The Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world for science and business, world class research and innovation - in order to achieve this, Government needs to increase investment in R&D over the next five years from 0.49% of GDP to at least matching the OECD average of 0.67% of GDP by 2020.”