Royal Society responds to the Spending Review

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said, “The Chancellor clearly recognises just how important science and innovation are, not only for our long term economic success but also for tackling global challenges such as protecting the environment and keeping us healthy. Support for AI in the NHS, research into improving air quality, protecting biodiversity and finding new ways to help achieve net zero emissions by 2050 are all welcome.

“It is also welcome to see confirmation that the Government is standing by commitments to increase investment in R&D to at least 2.4% by 2027. Their ambition to accelerate this and significantly increase public R&D funding is also encouraging, and we look forward to further details in the autumn.

“However, the Chancellor’s words are overshadowed by the cloud of Brexit that hangs over the UK. Continued uncertainty is damaging for the research community with threats to our workforce, our ability to collaborate internationally and funding. Until Brexit is resolved it is hard to look forward with a sense of optimism.”