Oral Answers to Questions

Chris McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)]

3. What steps his Department has taken to support investment in science and research.

[The Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment (Chris McDonald)]

As this is my first run-out in my new brief, I thought it might be nice to just take a moment to recognise the work of Lord Vallance as Science Minister and Lord Stockwood as Investment Minister, and thank them very much for their work.

As we have just heard from the Secretary of State, the Government are making record investments in science and technology to keep the UK at the forefront of global research and innovation. We are committing £86 billion to R&D between 2026-27 and 2029-30, including £38.6 billion for UK research and innovation. These investments are translating into jobs, innovation and economic opportunity across the UK, including in the east midlands.

[Adam Thompson]

I welcome the new Minister to his new place. Despite the Government’s significant funding increases to science generally, the Science and Technology Facilities Council is facing significant cost pressures. I met recently with some STFC-funded former colleagues who fear an exodus of professional talent from the UK because of those pressures. Given the importance of STFC-funded facilities in the UK’s scientific capability, will the Minister set out what he is doing to ensure that the council’s financial position is put on a sustainable footing, without undermining the long-term pipeline of researchers and the UK’s ability to participate in major international science programmes?

[Chris McDonald]

It is important to recognise that the changes have an impact on the staff that work for the STFC. I have been in the unfortunate position of working in a company undertaking such a restructure—and of having to do such restructures in the past—and I appreciate how difficult that is for staff. I have spoken to the executive chair of STFC, and at the core of the programme —exactly as my hon. Friend has described—is a desire to get STFC into a position where it has appropriate financial management, while also increasing productivity and modernising in response to new technology. The Government are supporting that with an increase in STFC’s funding to £842 million by 2029-30, from the £835 million of 2025-26.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Harpenden is home to Rothamsted Research and our universities lead the world, yet too much of that brilliance never leaves the lab. Will the Minister look at Lib Dem proposals to bring in a standard national framework for spin-out IP, and quintuple proof-of-concept funding, so Britain’s discoveries scale here and not abroad?

[Chris McDonald]

I agree with the hon. Member’s point about the need for Britain’s discoveries to be scaled at home rather than abroad. I am taking an end-to-end approach on that, starting with scientific discovery and hopefully ending with large companies listed on the London stock exchange, supporting businesses throughout that process. UKRI and Innovate UK are doing great work in that area, supported by the increased role of the British Business Bank.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to his new role as well as this Government’s emphasis on driving growth through innovation in every region of our country, as recommended by my Committee’s recent report, “Flying Blind”. It was called that because it identified a lack of data and information about the factors that drive growth and how to measure success in our regions and across clusters. The report called for a dashboard. Will the Minister tell me what progress has been made on that dashboard, and has he looked at the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership baseline report, which identified a number of indicators, including company stock, funded count, and disclosed funding by employee band?

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend and I share a great confidence in data and a desire to make decisions based on it. With the regional disparities that she is describing, I have looked at the data and there is a clear distinction between the proportion of UKRI funding and UKRI spin-outs, for instance, and then the ability of those companies to attract investment. In fact, the level of funding they received is based on their proximity to London. I share her concern, we are looking at the data on that, and I am happy to work with her and the Committee on how we ensure that regional funding is more appropriately spread.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

Universal Quantum, born out of the University of Sussex, is based in my constituency. It is developing a unique trapped-ion modular technology for quantum computing at scale. It received $77 million from the German Government in 2022, and last week secured $100 million of Series A funding from investors, including the Singaporean Government. However, it has been unsuccessful in getting any funding from our own Government. Can the Minister explain how that tallies with their Department’s commitment to investing in exceptional home-grown companies?

[Chris McDonald]

The situation that the hon. Member described about the loss of UK quantum companies, largely under the previous Government, is exactly why my predecessor was determined to set up the ProQure programme, to ensure that the UK is leading the procurement of quantum computing and enabling the growth of UK businesses to do that. In March 2026, the Government announced a landmark commitment of up to £2 billion for the next stage of the national programme, and our ambition is to see UK quantum companies scale and stay in the UK.

[Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

4. What steps his Department is taking under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 to hold online marketplaces accountable for the safety of products sold on their platforms.

--- Later in debate ---

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

T7. This summer, the Bletchley investment taskforce, which I established last year, finalised its investment prospectus, setting out all the opportunities that our town offers. Will the Minister meet me and the taskforce to discuss how we can work together to attract the new businesses and jobs that will ensure that we deliver growth in our postcode?

[The Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment (Chris McDonald)]

I commend my hon. Friend on the work of the Bletchley investment taskforce and I thank him for the many letters that he has sent me updating me on its work. I have learned about Bletchley’s strengths in innovation, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies, which are all aligned with our industrial strategy, so of course I would be keen to come and meet the investment taskforce. Perhaps we can talk about how the work of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor can link in and bring more investment to Bletchley too.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

T2. Tomorrow I will be in Scunthorpe to attend a meeting of the council-led British Steel development board. Is the Secretary of State in a position to give me some positive news that I can pass on?

--- Later in debate ---

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Boulby underground laboratory in North Yorkshire is competing to host XLZD, a prestigious physics experiment that could deliver Nobel prize-winning discoveries in the UK. In the light of the Science and Technology Facilities Council cuts, can the Minister reaffirm the Government’s commitment to securing the XLZD dark matter experiment for the UK?

[Chris McDonald]

It is quite a number of years since I was underground at Boulby, but I do remember the experience and how important that dark matter laboratory is. The particular issue at the Boulby mine is that it has increased its capacity, so its rental charges have gone up, and within the scope of its existing budget, that means about half a million pounds of its £1 million operating budget has been taken forward into the £4 million overall budget it has. The Government have funded the development of the laboratory that my hon. Friend describes until 2027-28; if the UK is successful, though, that would require additional funding above and beyond existing budgets.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

There is much interest from aerospace companies in the 1950s Blue Streak launch facilities at RAF Spadeadam in my constituency. What assessment has been made of the potential of UK sites for developing heavy-lift rocket testing in the UK, and will the Minister meet me to discuss the potential of Spadeadam?

[Chris McDonald]

Spadeadam is, of course, another amazing facility that I have visited in recent years. My hon. Friend is quite right: there is the potential there, and I agree that a full assessment of that potential must be made, alongside that of our other launch facility in the Shetland Islands.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

With Syngenta ending its Grangemouth operations despite the Government’s substantial offer to intervene, we have a narrow window to avoid this incredibly well-positioned site lying vacant. What interventions are the Government prepared to make to seriously secure new industry and new jobs for this site and, more broadly, the Grangemouth industrial complex this side of 2030?