Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing further funding for Researchers at Risk Fellowships to be made available to Palestinian researchers.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The current Researchers at Risk Fellowship Programme aims to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has exposed Ukraine-based researchers and their dependents to direct threats. My Department is keeping the programme, which is delivered by the British Academy, under close review.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support her Department provides to innovative plant-based businesses, including financial support for research and development.
Answered by George Freeman
Funding has been available since 2010 for businesses developing novel solutions across the agrifood sector. Projects supported include novel crop production systems, plant proteins, meat alternative plant-based foods, and agroceuticals. Through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, approximately £90m has been committed since 2018 to support 'Transforming Food Production' projects.
Innovate UK has delivered support to grow the sustainable protein industry as part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme. This supports the creation of new sources of resource-efficient, low-emission proteins, including innovative plant-based solutions. Competitions currently open include the ‘Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems’ competition worth £16m jointly committed by Innovate UK and Biotechnology and Biotech Sciences Research Council, and Innovate UK’s £20m ‘Better Food for All’ competition