Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) proposals in the "Guidance published for the People, Culture and Environment Pilot" published by UK Research and Innovation on 14 January; and what assessment they have made of the effect on scientific excellence, innovation and economic growth of introducing a 25 per cent weighting to EDI initiatives when allocating research funding.

The People, Culture, and Environment (PCE) pilot aims to assess the feasibility of integrating PCE elements, to guide the development of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029. Government acknowledges the important role of a positive research culture in attracting and retaining diverse talent, which is essential for maintaining the UK's global competitiveness in research. Final decisions on REF 2029's structure, including any potential PCE weighting, will follow the pilot’s conclusion and further sector consultation. While the proposed weighting for PCE is 25%, EDI initiatives only form a small proportion of this.