Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33779 Innovate UK: Expenditure, for what reason the total awarded by Innovate UK reduced from £1,491m to £815m between 2020 and 2021; and whether that reduction will be matched by an equivalent increase in 2022 or 2023.

The higher grant figure for projects starting in 2020 compared to 2021 was a combination of two large programmes (Strength in Places, and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre) and Innovate UK’s part in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic which saw them launch three major programmes to help the UK business innovation ecosystem navigate the shock of the global pandemic.