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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) improve the domestic workforce of STEM professionals and (b) maintain the UK as an attractive destination to overseas researchers; and what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the financial barriers preventing talented researchers from relocating to the UK.

The record level of investment announced for the UK research base at the Spending Review lays the strong foundation to realise our ambition to make the UK the most exciting place in the world for top research and innovation talent.

In July, the Government published the R&D People and Culture Strategy, which sets out our actions to attract, retain and develop talented people, making sure R&D careers in the UK are appealing to talented individuals and teams both domestically and internationally. It recognises the need to identify skills gaps, anticipate future needs, and ensure we have the workforce the UK needs, and commits to action to support STEM education and careers.

In line with the strategy, we are working with the Home Office to drive reforms to improve high skilled migration routes for innovators, entrepreneurs and top talent, and we are working with the Office for Talent to launch an online service to attract highly skilled, international talent.