Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 5 of the Pioneer Prospectus, published on 6 April, how Pioneer would work alongside the Advanced Research and Invention Agency.

Pioneer would complement the existing UK R&D funding landscape and form part of the Government’s historic commitment to increase public sector R&D investment to £20bn per annum in 2024/25.

ARIA will have maximum autonomy over its research and project choice; its procedures; and its institutional culture. Decisions on the programme portfolio will be set by ARIA, not ministers, and allocation of funding to research projects will be decided by those with relevant technical expertise.