Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance budget on UK antimicrobial resistance research projects carried out (a) by the One Health Poultry Hub and (b) overseas.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government has committed £1.5bn in additional resources to support people fleeing oppression in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Recognising these significant and unanticipated costs, the UK remains committed to the use of ODA to fund research that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development, and. We have robust mechanisms in place to assess the impact and value-for-money of our ODA-funded research programmes, which along with the priorities established by UK International Development Strategy, such as global health, are used to inform spending decisions on projects such as those linked to Antimicrobial Resistance.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of withdrawing £1.6 billion for research for antimicrobial resistance on the UK’s ability to lead the world in that area.
Answered by George Freeman
The £1.6bn returned to HM Treasury, was part of funding put aside in the Spending Review for association to Horizon Europe. As we have been unable to associate in the financial year 2022/23, the departmental underspend was returned to the Exchequer. Any funding required for association in future years will be made available once there is clarity on UK association to EU programmes.
Regardless of whether we reach an agreement with the EU on association, or launch our proposed alternative, the Government will ensure that UK researchers and businesses continue to benefit from world-leading collaboration opportunities in Europe and beyond.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s £800 million budget will be allocated to research into (a) antimicrobial resistance as a whole, (b) rapid diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance, and (c) vaccine technologies to mitigate antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by George Freeman
As set out in ARIA’s Framework Agreement, ARIA will have maximum autonomy over its research and project choice; its procedures; and its institutional culture. Decisions on the programme portfolio will be set by ARIA, not ministers, and allocation of funding to research projects will be decided by those with relevant technical expertise.
Over the coming months, ARIA is recruiting its first cohort of Programme Directors, who will help to shape and inform the Agency’s first set of research programmes.