A new publication which details the allocation of the government’s increasing investment in research and innovation, highlighting the government’s ambition for public and private sector investment in R&D to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027, was announced today (Thursday 2 August) by Science Minister Sam Gyimah.

The newly published Allocations Booklet highlights the biggest ever increase in public research and development (R&D) funding for 40 years, allowing scientists and researchers to continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge through the modern Industrial Strategy.

Recent examples of government-funded innovative programmes include breakthroughs in developing battery technologies for the future, and creating a new state of the art polar research ship that will facilitate world-leading and internationally collaborative research.

The Booklet also includes details of how increases in public R&D funding have been allocated to:

• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• the UK Space Agency
• National Academies
• Public Sector Research Establishments
• and other programmes.

It also includes details of year-on-year increases in R&D across a wide range of areas, including the National Productivity Investment Fund, Official Development Assistance and science infrastructure across the UK.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

We want the UK to lead on new ideas and technologies and have committed to supporting our businesses and world-leading innovators by taking measures to ensure 2.4% of GDP will be spent on research and development by 2027.

The publication of the Allocations Booklet spells out how we will ensure the benefits of this funding is felt across the science, research and innovation landscape; paving the way for disruptive businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers to flourish, boosting our economy and creating the high-value jobs of tomorrow.

The government’s commitment to reach the target of 2.4% of GDP being spent on R&D by 2027 was announced as part of the launch of the Industrial Strategy White Paper, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to our world-leading science, research and innovation sectors providing them with the necessary support to go from strength to strength.

The booklet includes the most recent allocations for a number of programmes funded and managed by UKRI, including the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). UKRI is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.

UKRI Chief Finance Officer and Deputy CEO Ian Kenyon said:

UK Research and Innovation is committed to providing the best environment for research and innovation to flourish, and ensuring that the UK’s world-leading knowledge economy is harnessed to address the significant societal and industrial challenges we face both domestically and globally.

The government has recognised these challenges, and by committing significant additional funding to research and innovation is providing us with the resources we need to get on with the job at hand.

UK Research and Innovation will now focus on investing every pound of our allocations wisely, while we push the frontiers of human knowledge and create tangible economic, cultural and social impact through the activities that we fund.

UKRI’s mission is illustrated by a range of recent projects. These include

• the RRS Sir David Attenborough, a 129m-long polar research ship which will deliver world-leading research to help tackle the environmental challenges of our age, including climate change and protecting our oceans
• the UK’s ongoing leading role in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory project to detect gravitational waves, which led to the award of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
• the Knowledge Exchange Hubs which successfully stimulated greater collaboration between excellent arts and humanities research and the creative industries.

A total of £1.7 billion has been committed to the first 2 waves of the ISCF, which is designed to develop UK industries that are fit for the future, driving progress in technologies where the UK can become a world-leader in their research and commercialisation. Investments so far include:

• the Faraday Challenge, to drive the development of new battery technologies
• 4 Hubs developing robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies for use in challenging and hazardous environments
• and a range of projects stimulating the development and manufacture of novel medicines for patients.

A number of other ISCF projects will be announced in the coming months, and challenges for the third wave of the ISCF are currently being considered.

1. Read The Allocations Booklet

2. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish across the UK. Comprising 9 councils, it aims to maximise the contribution of each of its component parts, working individually and collectively. It works with its many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.

3. The booklet sets out the budget allocations to UKRI and other funding streams managed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The focus on UKRI means this is not intended to be a complete picture of R&D managed across government or the department as some R&D budgets reside elsewhere.

4. The National Productivity Investment Fund established as part of the Autumn Statement 2016 and expanded at Autumn Budget 2017, adds £31 billion across government in high-value investment from 2017-18 to 2021-22. The £7 billion of this apportioned to research and innovation funding is split between themes and includes funding for innovation and research: Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund; and other programmes such as research talent. The £7 billion investment is made up of the £4.7 billion detailed within the Allocations Booklet and the remaining £2.3 billion to be allocated in 2021-22.

5. Allocations for 2020-2021 onwards will be made following the Spending Review.

Today (Thursday 2 August) Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins confirmed that 67 charities across England and Wales will be provided extra funding from the Home Office’s Anti-Knife Crime Community Fund.

The second round of the Community Fund opened in May 2018 and was originally set at £1 million. Due to the number and quality of bids submitted, and as part of the government’s commitment to early intervention and prevention to tackle serious violence, the funding has been increased to over £1.5 million.

These successful bids, which were selected due to their commitment to educating young people about the dangers of carrying weapons, are set to receive up to £30,000 each.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

It is vital that the government continues to support community groups who help young people build the resilience they need to take positive steps in life and steer clear of criminal activity.

Early intervention and prevention is vital to tackling serious violence and I am delighted we are able to increase the funding available to support more organisations.

As we continue to deliver on the Serious Violence Strategy I look forward to meeting and working with more of these organisations.

The Community Fund was first launched last year and 47 charities across the country benefited from the funding.

The second round of additional funding forms just one of over 60 actions and commitments announced in the Serious Violence Strategy and reiterates the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence, backed with £40 million of Home Office funding.

Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, Matthew Reed said:

We are delighted to be awarded this funding from the Home Office, which will allow The Children’s Society to deliver school-based support in Birmingham and an emotional resilience programme in Newcastle.

Supporting young people to live safe and protected lives free from exploitation and knife crime is more important than ever.

This announcement comes just days after the Home Secretary doubled the Early Intervention Youth Fund, which is also part of the Serious Violence Strategy, to £22 million. Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) who work in partnership with community safety partnerships (CSPs) or the equivalent can bid for support from the Early Intervention Youth Fund to deliver projects which steer young people away from violent crime.

A man who broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend and threatened her with a knife will spend longer in prison after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal for being too low.

Matthew White, 31, carried out an extensive campaign of harassment and threats against his ex-partner following their breakup in 2017. This culminated in White breaking into her home and brandishing a knife at her and her three children. She attempted to flee but White restrained her and made attempts to stab her, as well as punching her in the face multiple times. He also made threats against her family.

White was originally sentenced at Hull Crown Court in May, where he was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of 3 years and a restraining order. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 9 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of 5 years.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

“Not only did White’s actions directly impact his victim, but we can also only begin to imagine the long-terms effects this is likely to have on the children who experienced this terrible ordeal. It is only right that White should serve a longer sentence.”

There is up to £15 million for new healthcare technologies, products and processes that support the most innovative opportunities in the life sciences sectors.

We are looking for ideas to:

• prevent and proactively manage chronic health conditions
• better detect and diagnose disease earlier, to create improved outcomes for patients
• develop new, tailored treatments for disease that offer potential cures

The funding is available through the Biomedical Catalyst, which is a partnership between Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council.

There are 2 competitions in this funding round, one for primer awards and another for late-stage projects.

Support for many health projects

The Biomedical Catalyst supports projects from any sector or discipline including:

• precision medicine
• advanced therapies, such as gene and cell therapies
• diagnostics
• digital health
• medical technologies and devices

Organisations that have received funding in previous rounds include Entia, which has received more than £1 million from Innovate UK, much of it through the Biomedical Catalyst.

This has allowed it to work with The Royal Marsden Hospital to develop a hand-held blood testing kit that can be used at home by chemotherapy patients to help them better manage their treatment and limit the number of unnecessary visits they need to make to the hospital.

The system – which has won an AXA PPP Health Tech & You Challenge award – is also likely to have other applications outside cancer care because blood counts are so widely used in hospitals and GP practices.

Entia & Royal Marsden Hospital: developing blood testing kit for chemotherapy patients

Primer awards

Technical evaluation through to proof of concept

Up to £5 million is available for ‘primer’ projects, which cover a technical evaluation of an idea through to proof of concept.

They could include:

• experimental evaluation at laboratory scale
• initial demonstration using in vitro and in vivo models. This should not include human clinical trials
• exploring potential production mechanisms
• early-stage prototyping
• product development planning
• intellectual property protection

Competition information

• the competition opens on 6 August 2018, and the deadline for applications is at midday on 3 October 2018
• projects must be led by a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), working alone or with other SMEs or research organisations
• we expect projects to range in size from £200,000 to £1.5 million and to last between 1 and 2 years
• you can register for a briefing event on 7 August 2018, where you can find out more about the competition and making a quality application

Late-stage awards

Testing a well-developed concept

Up to £10 million is available for late-stage projects. These are projects that test a well-developed concept in an environment that is relevant to its use.

These could include:

• initial human proof-of-concept studies
• demonstration of clinical utility and effectiveness
• demonstration of safety and efficacy, which may include phase I and phase II clinical trials
• developing production mechanisms
• prototyping
• market testing
• intellectual property protection

Competition information

• the competition opens on 6 August 2018, and the deadline for applications is at midday on 3 October 2018
• projects must be led by an SME, working alone or with other SMEs or research organisations
• we expect projects to range in size from £200,000 to £4 million and to last between 1 and 3 years
• applicants that meet the quality threshold will be invited to interview in January 2019 to present their ideas
• you can register for a briefing event on 7 August 2018, where you can find out more about the competition and making a quality application