Committee questions Government on funding issues facing UK R&D
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee is investigating Government R&D Funding in 2021. The Committee will question Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about recent cuts and uncertainty affecting science research in the UK.
The Committee will probe the details of the recent funding allocation for the UK’s association to Horizon Europe in 2021/22, and arrangements for future years. It will also question the Secretary of State about: the impacts of cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA); the need for long-term R&D budgets spanning multiple Spending Reviews; and the fundraising crisis faced by medical research charities during the pandemic.
Lord Patel, the Chair of the Committee, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer about these issues, and the Secretary of State has replied. In addition, several leading organisations in the research sector have written to the Chair to set out their concerns.
Meeting details
Topics for discussion
- Funding arrangements for the UK’s association to Horizon Europe, both in 2021/22 and future years
- Delays in allocation of funding to R&D organisations, and lack of long-term certainty across Spending Reviews
- Impacts of cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) on research collaborations with developing countries
- Support needed by medical research charities due to loss of fundraising income during the pandemic