European Framework Programme 10

Debate between Lord Vallance of Balham and Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee

Thursday 4th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, in relation to industry, in the Minister’s first substantive Answer, he said that industry did not have the same percentage as academia. How can Government work with both industry and academia to forge closer collaborations so that they can partake of this investment, particularly when it is industry that usually identifies the difficulties that have to be solved and academia then comes up with the solutions?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

I wrote to vice-chancellors to encourage them to make sure they apply to get into all of the scheme, and that had an effect on applications. I am doing the same with trade bodies and other parts of industry to get them linked. The general point about links between academia and industry is crucial; we need much closer collaboration. The noble Baroness will see, as we go through our next REF exercise to assess universities, that the links to industry are going to be a very important part of that.