By Andrew Mackenzie, Head of Policy & Communications, The Physiological Society
The Prime Minister this week gave a set piece speech on his plans to ‘level up’ the country. But what does it mean for UK science?
From the speech today and the Life Sciences Vision published last week it is clear that the government sees science as playing a key role in levelling up health and wealth. In addition to the very fact the speech was given at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry, the Prime Minister talked about levelling up in the same breath as plans for the UK to be a ‘science superpower’.
The UK’s life science sector is incredibly important to the UK economy, generating £81 billion turnover and employing a quarter of a million people. And it is set to expand – with an extra £8.5 billion of growth to the economy and an extra 31,000 jobs by 2025. However, our life sciences sector and associated investment is heavily concentrated in London and the South East of England. By growing clusters of excellence, such as genomics in Manchester or medtech in Yorkshire & Humber, the government wants expected growth in life sciences – and the associated high-skilled, high-paid jobs – to be more evenly distributed across the country. They have placed the private sector at the heart of this and are seeking to incentivise high-value manufacturing capabilities in regions outside of London.
The UK Government has also highlighted the importance of better connectivity between different parts of the R&D ecosystem, with talent pipelines enabling people to move more easily between industry and academia, as well as public services such as the NHS.
Last year’s R&D roadmap stated it was the Government’s ambition to “enable places all over the UK to thrive and to fulfil their potential in R&D.” They have committed to considering giving greater account of place when making R&D decisions, with new approaches for funders to address regional imbalances in R&D intensity. Suggestions include reviewing the geographical balance of decision-makers and advisory boards, as well as significantly expanding the regional presence of national R&D funders to improve their local footprint.
The Prime Minister also placed a focus on tackling underlying causes of inequalities in life expectancy, citing that an individual in Blackpool has an average life expectancy 10 years less than someone in Rutland. Health challenges such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity disproportionately impact those from the most deprived areas. Life sciences has a vital role in developing new treatments and diagnostics that will be required to close these stark gaps in health outcomes.
However, many governments of all stripes have talked about tackling regional inequalities in the UK. Tony Blair said his Government of the 2000s would build a future where “no one is seriously disadvantaged by where they live” and David Cameron’s vision for the Big Society was supposed to usher in a sea change. The reality remains that the UK is the most regionally imbalanced country in the developed world. An Institute for Community Studies report found that between 2004 and 2019 there has been “a zero per cent average change in the relative position of the most disadvantaged areas in England.”
The need for change is clear and the political will is there, but action needs to follow words.
As it currently stands, public R&D funding is more concentrated in regions containing London, Oxford and Cambridge than business R&D funding (46% vs 31%). The large increases in public R&D funding promised by the Government means they can invest outside of the Golden Triangle, without simply moving existing money around. Levelling up public R&D spending is not a zero-sum game.
There is political consensus that in order to realise our national ambition to be a science superpower, all parts of the country have to both play a role as well as see the benefit. A key test will come when decisions are made about where to invest promised increases in public R&D funding.
The Prime Minister spoke about breaking the link between someone’s geography and their destiny. In order to create high-skilled jobs, build the future economy and solve ingrained health challenges, R&D must be a central pillar of this levelling up mission.
Reports referenced in article:
- NESTA report ‘The Missing £4 Billion’ with details on breakdown of R&D spend across the country: https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/The_Missing_4_Billion_Making_RD_work_for_the_whole_UK_v4.pdf
- Institute for Communities report: https://icstudies.org.uk/insights/blog/why-dont-they-ask-us-role-communities-levelling
- UK R&D Roadmap: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896799/UK_Research_and_Development_Roadmap.pdf
- Life Sciences Vision: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1000030/life-sciences-vision.pdf