Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of (a) aviation and (b) manufacturing research funding to universities.

The Government recognises that the aviation and manufacturing sectors have been strongly impacted by Covid-19.

We do not have an assessment of the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on the level of research funding to universities for aviation or manufacturing. According to the Office for National Statistics, UK business finance for Research & Development (R&D) in higher education in 2018 was £389 million. This is approximately 4% of all R&D performed in higher education. We do not have a breakdown by product or sector.

A Ministerial Taskforce, jointly led by BEIS and the Department for Education, on the sustainability of university research including those funded by businesses, has been established. The Taskforce will identify and assess impacts, as well as consider approaches to help manage these impacts over the?coming months.