Following the Chancellor's announcement of the 2024 Autumn Budget, Professor Andrew Morris PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:
“With this Budget, we are pleased that the Government has recognised the pivotal role of research and innovation in powering economic growth and prosperity. The Academy will continue to support this by working with our partners to deliver the best possible outcomes for research and for the health of people everywhere.
“It is encouraging that the Chancellor is providing much-needed stability for our research community by protecting core R&D budgets and we particularly welcome the real-terms increase in National Institute for Health Research investments, which are an important step towards delivering health research and innovations for patients across the UK.
“The Government’s commitment to fully cover the cost of the Horizon Europe programme is essential for advancing medical science and addressing global health challenges across borders and we encourage the UK research community to actively pursue these funding opportunities.
“By recognising innovation as one of the seven pillars of its Growth Mission, alongside the commitment to establish 10-year budgets in the Spring Statement and a roadmap to rebuild the NHS, the Government is signalling an important shift to longer-term thinking. Stable, sustained funding is crucial for fostering productive partnerships between academia, industry and the NHS, and enabling the kind of transformative research that improves the lives of people across the UK.”