Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of the UK's departure from the EU on levels of employment in the science, innovation and technology sector.
Answered by George Freeman
This Government is making the UK the best place in the world to work in science, innovation and technology.
Our Science and Technology Framework sets out how we will attract and retain the brightest talent, including to take advantage of the opportunities of the UK’s departure from the EU.
We are working across Government and sectors to develop the best technical, innovative and entrepreneurial talent to meet the UK's science and technology superpower ambitions.
I am delighted to confirm that the UK SRTI economy is creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for the whole of the UK, which we are harnessing to create new career opportunities, nowhere more than in Scotland with Satellite City in Glasgow, gaming, and computing in Edinburgh, and many more. Since 2018, there has been a 19% increase in business R&D employment from 596,000 jobs in 2018 to 712,000 in 2021.