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 ensure that the increase in annual core funding for Innovate UK will help support organisations based in Northern Ireland.

Innovation is at the heart of the UK’s strategy to boost productivity and international competitiveness. Cutting-edge businesses require access to growth capital and funding for high-risk, high-reward innovation activities available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Since 2004, Innovate UK has offered over £158 million in grants for R&D to businesses in Northern Ireland.

Spending Review 2021 secures increased funding for core Innovate UK programmes, reaching c.£1 billion per year by 2024/25 (over £300 million more than in 2021/22) to ensure it can support business in bringing innovations to market and drive economic growth. The money will be used to help boost private sector investment across the whole of the UK, creating the right conditions for all businesses to innovate and giving them the confidence to do so.

Following the Spending Review, BEIS will set R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.