The Academy President, Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, has written to the Chancellor of the Excehequer alongside over 30 leading scientific organisations calling on him to use this month's Spending Review to deliver on his promise to invest £22 billion in R&D by 2024/25.
This letter complements our recent submission to the Spending Review and highlights why now is a critical time to invest in research and innovation to drive the high-skill sectors and cutting-edge technologies that will help shape the UK’s future and to avoid falling behind other leading scientific nations when it comes to investment in R&D.
Professor Dame Anne Johnson, President of The Academy of Medical Sciences, said:
“The pandemic has demonstrated why investing in research is so important, and how UK science can step up to play its part on the global stage. The research community stands ready to turn the vision of Britain as scientific superpower into reality, but it requires the Government to follow up their ambitions with a sustained commitment to real investment, including by setting out clear, consistent steps to increase public investment in R&D to £22bn a year by 2024/25.”
The letter was covered in the Financial Times, 'Science bodies urge chancellor not to roll back on R&D target", accessible behind a paywall here.
Open Letter to the Chancellor on R&D Investment