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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage former post-doctoral researchers return to the profession.

As set out in our R&D Roadmap, we want to ensure a strong offer to attract those with the most talent and potential, and so alongside the new Office for Talent and visa reform, we will be reviewing the talent offer across all career stages to make sure that the coverage and attractiveness of programmes is among the best in the world. We will identify actions we can take to increase support for early career researchers, giving them the skills, knowledge and experience needed to progress their careers inside or outside academia.

Schemes funded by Government take career breaks and requirements for flexible working, into account. This includes UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships and the Royal Society’s University Research Fellowships. UKRI also works with the Daphne Jackson Trust, supporting fellowships specifically aimed at returning researchers to their chosen fields after a career break. Together, these provide pathways back into academia and funding for researchers.