Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the work produced by the University of Manchester’s Unit M initiative.

Officials from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have met the University of Manchester to understand how its new Unit M functions, and intends to help the university to support the region’s innovation economy. We look forward to learning from its insights as it delivers its activities.

This is an example of how universities are working collaboratively within their regions to deliver economic growth, supporting the government’s mission to kickstart the economy. The importance of developing regional innovation ecosystems in this way is why we have extended the Innovation Accelerator pilot programme into 2025/26.