Last month, the Government announced up to £484 million in research funding to support the R&D sector. This announcement was in response to the European Union’s (EU) refusal to finalise the UK’s association to Horizon Europe (the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation) and other related EU science programmes, as agreed under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2020.

The Government said these investments will not only provide targeted support for staff retention and local talent strategies at eligible universities and research organisations but also make sure that UK labs remain world class and at the cutting edge of R&D.

“The funds will also provide a catalyst for the growth in the UK’s burgeoning fusion industry, ensuring the UK can retain and build on its position as a global leader in fusion science. This support also builds on the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, extended in September, which continues to provide funding for eligible, successful UK winners of Horizon Europe calls to ensure UK researchers and businesses can continue to collaborate internationally.”

Business Secretary Grant Shapps added: “This immediate investment will help our research sector to shore up their talent pools, invest confidently in infrastructure and protect the UK’s reputation as a science superpower. The UK cannot wait indefinitely for the EU to meet its commitments, which is why this funding is so important to boost research and innovation across the breadth of our country. The Government is disappointed that the EU is still linking UK association with wider issues; the UK remains open to association but cannot wait indefinitely.”

The funding package includes a £30 million Talent and Research Stabilisation Fund that will provide targeted support to eligible universities and research organisations that have a track record in attracting direct talent-based funding from the EU, to help them retain talent and address vulnerabilities at a local level.

Also, £100 million Quality Related (QR) funding for English universities with additional funding for the Devolved Administrations, and thereby enable universities to strengthen research capabilities by employing research staff, technicians or sustaining new areas of vital research.

Meanwhile, £200 million for UK Research Infrastructures (including additional funding for the Devolved Administrations) will provide a one-off boost to the UK’s research infrastructure base; this includes the UKRI World Class Labs fund, which aims to enable UK institutes and universities invest in essential research equipment and sustain their research base, while allowing the UK’s Public Sector Research Establishments to maintain their status as ‘international centres of excellence’.

In addition, the Fusion Industry Programme will get £42.1 million to galvanise the UK fusion sector through a ‘challenge fund’ designed to engage and support UK businesses in important technical challenges of fusion, with the aim of ‘helping to build capabilities and spur commercial innovation’. There will also be £84 million for JET Operations, to support JET (Joint European Torus), and support UK fusion programmes such as STEP (Spherical Tokomak for Energy Production).