Oral Answers to Questions

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kanishka Narayan]

My hon. Friend is a master of short clips in the Chamber, so I will take both his skill and his sincerity on this question to heart and work with him to ensure we robustly enforce the duties already placed on Ofcom under the Online Safety Act.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

7. What steps her Department is taking to ensure the equitable regional distribution of funding by UK Research and Innovation.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Kanishka Narayan)]

A British technological revolution is going to ensure that working people see good jobs and local prosperity wherever they live and wherever they call home, right across the country. A record £86 billion in research and development investment will spread that opportunity to every region, from Birmingham to Belfast. With UKRI’s £500 million local innovation partnerships fund, we will ensure that local leaders turn ideas into the industries of the future.

[Maya Ellis]

The £54 million UKRI global talent fund, which was designed to attract and retain international research talent, has excluded all northern universities from its funding. UKRI waived eligibility criteria to ensure that the devolved nations received some of the funding. Meanwhile, Lancaster University, a huge driver in the economic growth of Lancashire and the north-west which reached the highest eligibility criteria, received none. Will the Minister commit to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership’s recommendation for greater transparency in the data and methodology used in UKRI assessments, and for an institution’s size and its role within a region’s economy to be taken into account when making future decisions on UKRI funding?

[Kanishka Narayan]

Let me assure my hon. Friend that the Government are committed to ensuring that every region benefits from the UK’s world-leading research base. That is exactly why we are backing Lancaster University with £4.9 million for its cyber-focus project to ensure that the region’s cyber-sector grows. With my hon. Friend’s expertise in digital innovation and her strong advocacy for the north-west, we will continue to ensure that R&D funding for the north-west is on the up.