Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether money from the public purse spent on the proposed Pioneer prospectus would count towards the Government’s target of £20 billion of spending on research and development investment by 2024-25.

This Government has recommitted to increasing public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025 - a cash increase of approximately a third compared to 2021/22. This includes funding for the UK’s association to Horizon Europe if the UK can agree fair and appropriate terms with the EU, or its alternative, Pioneer, if the UK is unable to secure association.