Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the relationship between ring-fencing his Department's science budget and the UK's science research capability.

This Government recognises the value of science and innovation as a crucial driver of UK economic success. We protected the science ring-fence over the last Parliament and are investing £6.9 billion in science capital from this year to 2021, including £2.9 billion on Grand Challenges at the forefront of global research. A Spending Review later this year will examine where best to make robust investments in science and research that bring economic growth.

We are not able to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of science investment specific to Yorkshire but research suggests that the returns on public investment are high and that for every one pound the government spends on research and development, private sector productivity rises by twenty pence per year in perpetuity. There is also evidence that public sector investment leverages in additional private sector investment.

This Government is committed to rebalancing the economy of our country and building a Northern Powerhouse. Science in Yorkshire is benefiting from a range of initiatives including the recent Engineering and Physical Science Council’s £24M investment in a Quantum Technology Hub based in York – designed to exploit an expanding area of technological development. The table below provides breakdown of investment over the last five years for which we have data.