Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department monitors (a) UK research and development capacity and (b) the impact of reductions in funding by university departments on that capacity.

Research England engages regularly with leaders at all research-intensive universities on a range of issues including R&D capacity. The government is concerned about the potential impact of cuts by universities on UK R&D capacity and is monitoring the situation.

We are determined to work with the sector to transition to sustainable research funding models, including by increasing research grant cost recovery as announced by UKRI last week. However, universities also need to take their own steps to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible and cost their research appropriately.