Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to DSIT Main Estimate memorandum 2025 to 2026, if she will provide a breakdown of past and planned capital spending in the category of 'Science and Society'; and for what reasons this spending has increased from 2024 to 2025 levels.

For 2024/25 the total capital spend on Research and Development (R&D) in the category of Science and Society was £111.4m and for 2023/24 was £109.9m. £216.8m spend is planned for 2025/26 as presented within the Main Estimate for 2025/26. Science and Society is a reporting category and budgeted allocations from this area are sometimes reallocated to other DSIT reporting categories during the financial year. The budget at Main Estimate is therefore often higher than at Supplementary Estimate due to the timing of the budget allocations. Future year plans for 'Science and Society' will be confirmed as part of future Estimates.