Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of university-based (a) research and (b) development activities on levels of UK (i) productivity and (ii) economic growth.

Evidence shows that every £1 of public R&D investment leverages around £2 of business R&D investment [1] and generates approximately £7 of net economic benefits in the long term [2].

Universities play a central role in the UK’s R&D ecosystem, receiving around half of the Government’s R&D funding [3]. Their impact is wide-ranging, from advancing scientific knowledge to commercialising innovation. For example, university spin-outs and start-ups – just one channel through which universities contribute to the economy - attracted £20.6 billion in investment between 2014 and 2022 [4].

[1] The relationship between public and private R&D funding | Oxford Economics

[2] ‘Evidence on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending’, written evidence submitted by UK Research and Innovation to the Science and Technology Select Committee, published November 2018

[3] UK gross domestic expenditure on research and development

[4] Intellectual property, start-ups and spin-outs | HESA