Ahead of the Government’s Spending Review next week (27 October), the President and Chief Executive of The Physiological Society have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for promises on R&D spending to be honoured.
The Government committed to increase public R&D investment to £22 billion by 2024/25 in their 2020 Budget. This is a vital step for the UK to reach the research intensity target of 2.4% GDP by 2027. However, there are increasing concerns within the UK scientific community that the Government may be preparing to reduce or delay this commitment.
In their letter, Professor David Paterson and Dariel Burdass said:
“Whether it is the vaccines or treatments, we saw from the pandemic that our ability to develop a creative and innovative response quickly to public health challenges requires building on years – or even decades – of research.
“UK R&D investment is falling behind other countries.
“The UK needs to keep up or it risks losing its competitive global advantage. Talented people will move to countries increasing their investment and the UK will miss out on innovation and research opportunities.
“As the organisation that represents physiologists in the UK, and the largest such organisation in Europe, we are writing to urge you to ensure the forthcoming Spender Review delivers on this existing funding promise.”
Full text of letter:
Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer,
In your foreword to ‘Build Back Better: Our plan for growth’ earlier this year you highlighted the international reputation of UK science, along with the strength of our world class universities, as key pillars to the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.
This Government has made welcome statements about the value it places on research and development, and the upcoming Spending Review is an opportunity to deliver the funding the UK needs to be science superpower.
Physiologists have been the backbone of the scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are playing a crucial role in tackling many of the challenges facing the world today such as climate change. As the science of how the body works, physiological research is essential to improving health, tackling disease and ensuring people can work and live longer.
UK R&D investment is falling behind other countries. Germany is investing 3.2% of GDP in R&D and the US 3.1%, while the UK is still only at 1.7%. In the context of the US committing an additional £250 billion to core science and technology budgets, and France announcing that the National Research Agency budget will treble by 2023, the UK needs to keep up or it risks losing its competitive global advantage. Talented people will move to countries increasing their investment and the UK will miss out on innovation and research opportunities.
The commitment, first made in the 2020 Budget, to increase public R&D investment to £22 billion by 2024/25 is a vital step for us to reach the research intensity target of 2.4% GDP by 2027. As the organisation that represents physiologists in the UK, and the largest such organisation in Europe, we are writing to urge you to ensure the forthcoming Spender Review delivers on this existing funding promise.
Each pound of public investment in R&D crowds in roughly two pounds of private investment. The Campaign for Science and Engineering has published an analysis showing that if Government delays reaching its R&D target by three years it will result in a potential loss of £11 billion of private investment.
COVID-19 has shown how science, business and politics can work together to respond to a crisis. We know some of the unprecedented public health challenges we face: Long Covid, obesity, ageing, the climate crisis. They are challenging enough, and there will be many more we are not able to predict.
The lesson from COVID-19 is that our best defence is a robust, diverse science base we can call on.
However, the strength of this research base cannot be taken for granted. Science cannot be turned on and off like a tap. Whether it is the vaccines or treatments, we saw from the pandemic that our ability to develop a creative and innovative response quickly to public health challenges requires building on years – or even decades – of research. UK R&D needs to be properly resourced and supported so that we can ensure science will be there when the world turns to it for answers.
Professor David Paterson Dariel Burdass
President, The Physiological Society Chief Executive, The Physiological Society