Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure that research excellence in Wales is considered for new government-funded (a) research contracts and (b) national facilities.

Wales is home to significant national research capabilities including the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult based in Newport and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University. Excellence is a key criterion for the allocation of research funding to institutions in all parts of the UK. It is central to the Research Excellence Framework, managed by the research funding bodies including the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

In addition, the Government has given UKRI a new organisational objective to support levelling up, and increase consideration of local growth criteria and impact in R&D fund design.