March 11, 2020

expert reaction to the Budget

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced spending commitments for multiple areas of science and technology in the UK. 

Comments on Research Spending Commitments

Prof Colin Blakemore, Professor of Neuroscience, City University of Hong Kong, and Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience, University of Oxford, said:

“The extra funding for science is extremely welcome.  If nothing else, coronavirus teaches us how important it is to invest in our research capacity so that we are ready for the complex challenges that the modern world throws at us.  But all this “new” money needs to be weighed against the loss of European funding caused by Brexit.

“I’m concerned about how decisions were made about the allocation of all this money, and what that means for future decisions about the funding of science. Does it really make sense to give £1.4 billion next year to the APHA in Weybridge, on the grounds that it is playing an important role in surveillance for the current coronavirus outbreak?  I’m sure that APHA is a good institute but this is about twice the amount that the MRC spends on the whole of medical research in the whole of the UK.   Who decided that this one institute will be able to spend that money to the best effect?

“ARPA for the UK is an interesting idea and many scientists will welcome reduced bureaucracy around funding.  But who will decide how the money is spent? It seems to me that “UK-ARPA” could become essentially another Research Council, but under direct ministerial control”

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“We are deeply impressed with the government’s commitment to more than double UK public spending on R&D. It is vital to enhance spending on creative new ideas and catalysing innovation if our world-leading engineering research and enterprises are to reach their full potential and improve opportunities for all through economic and social development.

“High-risk innovation with flexible funding is an exciting and ambitious endeavour – this is what a UK ARPA should deliver.  We have seen from the US ARPA example that it can succeed if it is well designed. Radical, out-of-the-box thinking, if properly funded and executed, could boost local economies, create new and sustainable jobs and address global challenges, while creating new opportunities to improve people’s lives in every part of the UK.

“Importantly, by increasing research spending itself the UK will not benefit from radical results.  Investment should also be made in turning research into real world solutions and successful businesses, which should be valued just as much as the publication of excellent papers and winning of Nobel prizes. Successful radical innovation with tangible economic benefits will depend on close collaboration between academia and industry.

“Boosting public spending on roads, rail, broadband and flood defences is also welcome – well-costed resilient infrastructure projects will benefit people, businesses and the environment and will impact our lives for decades to come. Local areas must be involved in these projects because they have the insight to deliver integrated strategies for transport, employment and housing and to create thriving areas and communities.

“Investment is essential to deliver on the UK’s ambitious climate change goals and the Chancellor has shown today that he is willing to spend to generate high-skill, low-emission jobs for the future. 75% of emissions reductions since 2012 have come from changes to electricity supply but bold action is now needed on heat and transport. We should support large-scale demonstrations for heat technologies such as district heat networks, heat pumps and heat recovery – 85% of UK households still rely on gas for heating.”

Prof John Womersley, Director-General, European Spallation Source (ESS), said:

“Whatever you may think of the government’s broader policies it does have a clear vision for the role that science and innovation should play in the post-Brexit economy. In this budget they have committed substantial increased funding in support of that vision, including £800M for a new agency modelled on the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the USA.  There are two strange omissions though – there is no mention at all of UK Research and Innovation, who should be working to coordinate and deliver this vision and plan, and there is also no mention of the need to define the UK’s future research relationship with Europe.  I think this points to the need to move rapidly to conclude the selection process for a new UKRI chief executive who can ensure that the still-new agency can step up to the task.”

Prof Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said:

“The significant increase in research and development investment, raised to £22bn in today’s budget, shows the Government understands just how important science is for the whole of the UK to prosper.  What’s good for science is good for us all.

“The Chancellor is right to restate that the UK is the nation of Newton, Hodgkin and Turing, and the birthplace of inventions that have defined the modern age. The £800m commitment to ARPA demonstrates this government is embracing opportunities to try new things. We must also continue to build on our great strengths in the basic research that feeds the innovation of the future and will ensure the UK maintains its status as a global science leader.

“As the host of COP26 this is a big year for the UK to lead the way in tackling climate change. The investment in green transport, energy innovation, environmental protection and new technologies is a welcome first step to meeting our commitments to “net zero” by 2050, and increasing the resilience of our natural environment.

“We look forward to further clarity in the Autumn Spending Review on how this new investment is allocated across the UK’s research and innovation landscape.”

Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the UK BioIndustry Association said:

“Support ‘Invest in Ideas’ agenda

“We welcome the Government’s commitment to ‘Invest in Ideas’ agenda with the announcement of an extra £22bn a year for R&D.  For our sector the £200m life sciences scale up fund now becomes a reality. We will work with the Government so they can realise their aim of securing £400m worth of additional private sector funding. It is critical now to leverage capital from pension schemes, which are currently not active-enough players in the UK’s innovative growth industries. With public R&D investment increasing this will give Innovate UK the headroom to refill the Biomedical Catalyst. We will continue to engage with the Government and Innovate UK through the Spending Review process to ensure that this important R&D funding programme is refilled and supports innovative biotech companies for years to come.

“Cambridge South heralds Britain’s biotech line

“The announcement of funding for a Cambridge South station heralds the railway as Britain’s Biotech Line. It strengthens and speeds up links between London and Cambridge with journeys from the doorstep of the Francis Crick Institute in Kings Cross, to AstraZenenca’s UK Headquarters in Cambridge. This not only makes life easier for many working in our sector but derisks taking an entrepreneurial role in a start up or scaling business without having to move.”

Dr Mark Downs CBiol FRSB, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Biology, said:

“The RSB wholeheartedly welcomes the financial commitment to the UK’s science and technology sector – we want to accelerate the development of the UK’s world-leading research and innovation and this budget will help the UK to achieve this.

“The proposed investment in blue-skies research is also promising. This funding will help to push the boundaries of our scientific understanding, which is key in addressing global challenges, improving our quality of life, and inspiring the next generation of scientists.

“We cannot understate the role of biosciences research in tackling the corona virus outbreak, and the Government’s further investment in research will be essential in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone affected.

“We also welcome the dedication of funds to clean energy, to the funding for universities across the UK and to further preserving natural habitats. The RSB agrees with the Chancellor’s comment that Britain truly is a country of scientists.”

Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, the British Academy, said:

“Research and ideas are a global currency and a great source of soft power and influence for the United Kingdom. Insights from the humanities and social sciences help us to shape our future: driving productivity, raising living standards and tackling the most significant challenges we face today. This bold commitment to investment in R&D signals that our position of world leadership in research and innovation will continue to be a central pillar of our relationship with our global partners.

“The announcement of an ARPA-style blue-skies thinking centre is a reflection of the importance of R&D in meeting society’s needs and building effective strategies to tackle global challenges on a societal scale. This centre will be involved in developing and designing innovations that have high levels of risk of failure, yet the potential rewards are huge, so having a clear sense of purpose for it will be critical for its success and public support. There is no shortage of clear reminders of what a strong commitment to R&D can achieve; the COP26 conference later this year, for example, is a chance to galvanise a practical and effective response to climate change from the global community.”

Dr Sarah Main, Executive Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), said:

“In a welcome move, the Government has supercharged public investment in science, delivering investment faster and further than it had promised.”

“Government has pushed hard to front-load public investment in the effort to boost the contribution of research and innovation to the UK economy and attract private R&D investment to follow. Additionally, this investment has the potential to accelerate the Government’s efforts to tackle challenges such as net zero, flooding and new treatments for diseases, such as coronavirus, set out in the budget.”

“This is an ambitious program and a huge investment in a short period of time. It must be spent well to ensure that an R&D decade delivers real benefit for everyone in the UK. A multi-year plan is essential at the spending review to ensure that the added value of overseas investment to the economy and personal prosperity to people around the UK are achieved.”

Prof Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:

“In the face of the global challenge posed by COVID-19, I’m delighted that today’s Budget shows that this Government recognises the vital role of medical research in protecting and enhancing the health and wealth of our nation.

“The measures set out by the Chancellor to increase R&D investment to £22 billion a year by 2024-25 shows that this Government is serious about its promises to double our investment in research. This increase in funding has the potential to transform our capacity in medical research and our ability to address major health and societal challenges.

“These measures, starting with a 15% increase in investment next year, lay the foundation for the UK to continue to lead the world in science, drive ever-more international collaboration, and ultimately deliver benefits to patients and the public.

“The importance of investing in medical science has never been more apparent than now, with research forming an integral component of the Government’s four stage response to COVID-19. But these announcements recognise that biomedical research is not only important during a global outbreak; it is vital to deliver new treatments and to address current and emerging health challenges, from epidemic preparedness to an ageing society.

“Medical research also has an integral role to play in driving growth across the UK, with excellent research taking place in universities, hospitals and businesses up and down the country. Building on this excellence can deliver economic benefits – investing in research returns 25p for every pound invested every year, forever, and can attract industry, creating highly skilled jobs.

“These benefits have clearly been recognised by the Chancellor and I now look forward to working with him and this Government as he develops detailed plans for this investment as part of this year’s Spending Review.  If we get this right, we can ensure that today’s commitments deliver the greatest possible impact to UK medical research and to our public and patients.”

Comments on COVID-19 Spending Commitments

Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the UK BioIndustry Association said:

“On Covid 19 we welcome the Chancellors’ commitment to do whatever it takes.  The UK biotech sector has come together to support the scale up and manufacture of emerging COVID 19 vaccines. Our capacity and expertise will work alongside the extra financial resources announced in today’s Budget to turn novel candidates, which emerge from research laboratories, into usable products.”

Alex Harris, Head of Global Policy at Wellcome, said:

“This is a vital commitment from the UK government in response to extraordinary times. Globally we have also seen significant commitments from the European Commission, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

“By investing in accelerating research into treatments, vaccines and diagnostics, we can make a huge difference to getting ahead of the rapid spread of COVID-19.

“We must not lose sight of the fact this is a global problem and will be with us for some time. Epidemics do not respect borders and we will need further co-ordinated global investment in research and public health to bring this outbreak to an end and avert catastrophe. 

“We must continue to unite behind this international effort and ensure that everyone can benefit from all advances made, so that no country is left behind.”

Dr Ed Wright, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, University of Sussex, said:

“It was encouraging to hear there will be extra support for strategies that will help reduce the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2, or push the peak of cases later into the year. While a vaccine won’t be available for use in large, country-wide immunisation campaigns for many months at best a vaccine would be useful if the virus becomes endemic or could potential be rolled out if another novel coronavirus starts causing infections in humans. Resources to support further increases in testing capacity, along with isolation and care of infected individuals is highly like to have a positive affect on the trajectory of this outbreak as has been seen in South Korea and Singapore.”

Comments on Environment and Climate Spending Commitments

Dr Steve Smith, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford

“The government said itself that it needs to “walk the walk” ahead of hosting the international climate talks in November. This budget marks a few steps in the right direction: funding for more trees, improving peatlands, electric transport, low-carbon heating and for building carbon capture & storage. What isn’t there is support for more public transport, walking and cycling, insulating homes, and restricting the artificial greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners. Ultimately, getting to net zero emissions will require committed effort over many budgets. The sooner we start on these things, the better.”

Prof Jon Gluyas, Director of Durham Energy Institute, and Professor of Geoenergy, Carbon Capture & Storage, Durham University, said:

“it is good to see CCS is back on the agenda some 5 years after the then Chancellor George Osborne cryptically cut £1 billion of support for CCS just ahead of the COP summit in Paris in December 2015.  Even that was a third failed initiative to deliver CCS, the first being back in 2004.  We are now the best part of two decades behind Norway, The USA, China, Canada and Australia when it comes to CCS and have missed the opportunity to export skills around the world.  The UK does still have a key advantage we can play.  We understand the deep geology of the North Sea and where we could safely store CO2 for millennia better than anyone else knows their own back yards.  Couple this will an industry in the UK that is very adept at getting oil and gas out of the ground we will use the same technology for disposing of CO2 into the ground.  This time government support for CCS has got to be real, sustainable and delivered.  Do it rather than study it, and we might just regain our position as a nation at the forefront of tackling climate change.”

“Exempting agriculture from tax on red diesel is crime upon crime.  Emissions of greenhouse gases from intensive agriculture are huge.  Business as usual in agriculture will only hasten the climate emergency.”

 Prof Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Carbon Capture, University of Edinburgh, said:

“CCS is the start of the start, when the UK will return fossil carbon back underground, from where it came. The end is much further on, but the UK can now walk the walk.  We have borrowed extensively from our carbon credit card in the past 300 years. Now we can start to pay back the debt. 

“Is this the same as previous CCS announcements ? No

“Why – because this is certainly across all of UK industry, not about decarbonising dirty coal to make expensive electricity

“CCS is one part of a wide, strategic and comprehensive move by the UK to become a decarbonised, high value, industrial society

“It has been clear for many years that CCS is not just nice to have, but is essential to deliver the Net Zero ambition in mid century, and no longer contributing directly to global climate change, and to deliver renewed jobs, cleaner air and greater energy security for the UK

“The essential nature of CCS has been explained by Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage for the past 15 years. And more stridently emphasised  by the committee on Climate Change since 2018, and repeated again this week by the modelling analysis from the Energy Systems Catapult 

“Is £800M enough as an influx of capital funds?  Yes – because with successive iterations of design, the concept of a minimum viable CO2 capture and storage system has been developed. What is the smallest size which will work, commercially? And in Scotland, the Acorn project devised by Pale Blue Dot has recognised that re-using existing oil and gas pipelines, and re-using appraisals of geological storage sites in well understood depleted gas fields can wipe hundreds of millions off the startup price. And so Acorn is the UK’s most shovel ready CCS project, and could be operating in late 2023 for a price of £250-300Million. That can also serve additional parts of the UK, such as Teesside, where 700,000 tonnes per year of pure CO2 is vented to atmosphere. Instead that can be emplaced in existing CO2 shipping tankers, and moved to NE Scotland for storage offshore. Establishing an operating commercial system at very low entry cost. And after Acorn, could come Merseyside – where gas pipes connected to the Hamilton Gasfield will become available for CO2 transport around 2023, meaning a second project can be operating before 2026.

“The UK now needs to establish a market giving value to stored CO2 and making CCS a viable business proposition. Charging emissions taxes does not work, we can see that in France. A storage market can be achieved by paying complex and expensive subsidies from government. But storage market is much quicker and cheaply enacted by creating a Carbon Takeback Obligation to store an annual percentage of fossil carbon produced by or imported into the UK by oil, gas or coal companies. Those fossil fuel companies have to arrange and operate the geological storage, to discharge their Carbon Takeback Obligation. That’s a small extra cost, which gets passed on in the wholesale price to us consumers. That means a small retail price increase, to start with- for example just £0.25p per litre of petrol. But is a certain method of ensuring the CO2 storage market develops first and fast in the UK. “Levelling up to create jobs and ensuring that the UK can meet its 2050 targets without cancelling our existing economy.   

“CCS enables a comprehensive decarbonisation of industry in the UK, to reach a genuine Net Zero. 

“Then heading past net zero in mid century, to a persistently net-negative economy.”

Prof Simon Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science, University College London (UCL), said:

“The announcement of 30,000 hectares of tree planting by 2024 in England is far from the Conservative Manifesto pledge of 30,000 hectares per year for the UK, unless Scotland, Wales and Northern Island have plans far exceeding those of the Chancellor. Used wisely, tree-planting, peatland restoration and funding for the Nature Recovery Network could really help nature adapt to our rapidly changing climate and sequester carbon. These are exciting nature-related announcements, but an overarching discussion of UK land-use and ownership will be required to meet the triple challenges of farming in a post-Brexit world, reaching net zero emissions, and halting the decline in biodiversity.”

Dr Ajay Gambhir, Senior Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment said:

“There are some promising announcements in the Budget which show the government understands the direction of travel towards a zero-carbon Britain. For example, it’s high time we demonstrated Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), particularly in industrial processes, at large scales as soon as possible, and there are steps to support CCS in at least two sites in the UK by 2030. The Low Carbon Heat Support Scheme will also hopefully provide a much-needed acceleration to the very sluggish rate with which the UK is decarbonising its housing stock, though details remain to be seen.

“In the transport sector, the extension of the Plug-in Car Grant scheme to 2022/3 is welcome, as well as its broader scope to include vans, taxis and motorcycles, supported by investment in a fast-charging network. But the government cut the plug-in grant 18 months ago, and a return to the previous level of £4,500 per vehicle, or even better an even greater level of support, would have been far more effective in jump-starting the electric vehicle market in the UK. In that sense, other countries like Norway continue to do much better than us.” 

Prof David Reay, Professor of Carbon Management, University of Edinburgh, said:

“’On the ‘Nature for Climate’ fund, this apparently aims at planting 30,000 ha of new trees over the next 5 years – equivalent to a forest ‘larger than Birmingham’. But this is still way below where tree planting needs to get to for ‘net zero’ emissions in 2050.

“For ‘net zero’ the UK needs to be planting around 30,000 ha of new trees EVER YEAR. Trees take many years before they really start hitting their straps in terms of carbon uptake and storage, so a weak tree planting target today will mean millions of tree-shaped gaps in UK climate change action tomorrow.”

Dr Bonnie Waring, Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment said:

“Planting trees and restoring peatland may help mitigate increases in atmospheric CO2 while protecting biodiversity. However, these nature-based solutions must be accompanied by immediate and sustained reductions in emissions, and cannot take the place of the other decarbonisation strategies mentioned in the Budget (renewable energy, zero-emissions vehicles). Moreover, to maximise ecological benefits, the UK should plant diverse mixtures of native tree species in habitats where trees are already growing.”

Comments on Flooding Spending Commitments

Cathy Travers, Managing Director, UK and Europe, Mott MacDonald, said:

“Today’s Budget makes some important down payments on the government’s promise of an infrastructure revolution and desire to level-up infrastructure investment. The further downgrading of UK’s productivity performance by the OBR highlights just how urgent it is to start investing in the assets that will underpin our future growth. 

“Increased investment in flood risk management will be welcomed across the country, none more so than in those communities who are continually impacted by climatic weather events. Annual flood damage costs are already in the region of £1.1B and could rise to as much as £27B by 2080. This means there is limited time to safeguard hundreds and thousands of homes, so we must start taking bold action now. Just as importantly we need to spend the money wisely. We will need to be innovative and be willing to do things differently, which may require new policy approaches from government.

“We need to develop our resilience to flooding so we can recover quickly and with minimal impact on society. Counterintuitively, in some areas it will be better to allow existing communities on the flood plain to grow, if that new development is designed to help the whole area deal with rainwater more effectively. These types of solution can not only build resilience but also help places at risk of flooding suffering economic stagnation, while reducing the pressure for greenfield development elsewhere. Our work in a range of places, including Hull, Salisbury and Sydney has shown that these types of schemes drive up quality of life by creating new green spaces for local people as well as acting as a carbon-sink.

“We already knew and applauded the decision to progress with HS2 which will make a vital contribution to towards meeting the needs of communities, businesses and industry, and will provide jobs, apprenticeships and career opportunities for both the current and next generations. The delay to the government’s National infrastructure Strategy provides an opportunity to refocus, go further and demonstrate the positives of new and improved infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth, jobs and better social outcomes. The review of the Green Book and further devolution of funding to metro mayors is a chance to ensure our decision-making processes spread these benefits across the country. Mott MacDonald will use its physical presence in cities like Leeds (where we are an anchor employer) to ensure that infrastructure is designed around the needs of local people.

“As we transition out of the European Union, investment in nationally critical transport, utilities and local infrastructure will be vital to attracting funding from other sources and delivering the productivity improvements that the government has set out.

“All future investment in new infrastructure and the upkeep and modernisation of existing assets must be mindful of the government’s commitment to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.”

Prof Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology, University of Reading, said: 

“The spending promised to repair flood defences damaged in this winters’ devastating floods, for rebuilding community flood resilience, along with a doubling of spending on flood defences over the next 6 years, will help Britain be more prepared for climate change than our current precarious position. This is critical as we can expect the kind of extreme weather and floods that we saw this winter become a more regular occurrence.

“The investment in our natural capital, such as peat bogs, is also welcome. But this really is a tiny piece of a much bigger problem. Climate change is still the biggest long-term threat facing humanity and it will require a huge effort from all parts of society to change our behaviour.

“We need spending on flood defences and we need to ensure communities can recover from floods but we can’t just build our way out of this problem. The government needs also to better fund efforts to change how we are living our lives as many types of floods get worse as the climate changes.

“The government has said it will publish a National Infrastructure Strategy later in the spring. This would be the opportunity to commit to making strong changes to renew our crumbling infrastructure, ensuring that the whole country has the homes, schools, roads, cities and utilities that are we know can withstand serious floods.”

Dr Ana Mijic, Senior Lecturer in Water Management at Imperial College London said:

“The new budget announcement reveals the key challenge of sustainable development – large investments in road and housing infrastructure projects that are likely to support growth and hence increase pressures on the natural environment. In the context of water management, under current regulation and standards this will highly likely lead to increased demand for water and pollution of watercourses.

“The budget-allocated funding for new flood defences will surely help regions that have suffered greatly over the past 10 years. However, until large scale planning process are analysed systemically and the aspect of demand for natural resources and implications for the water cycle are addressed by stakeholders beyond the Environment Agency and water companies, we will keep fixing the problems rather than fundamentally changing the way we try to achieve sustainable development.”

Sent ahead of the Budget speech:

Prof Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology, University of Reading, said:

“The expected increase in spending for flood defences promised in today’s Budget is welcome news for those whose homes and businesses are increasingly being put at risk of life-ruining floods.

“But the devil is in the detail, and the Chancellor must realise that he can’t stop floods with his red box.

“We do need the government to pay to repair defences that have been battered and breached by some of the wettest winter weather we’ve seen, and create smart new investments to protect people and properties. But the government also needs to properly fund efforts to change how we respond to floods. The Environment Agency, who I work with, do a good job on this but could do so much more if they were better funded.

“Adapting to climate change means being ready to deal with different kinds of flooding, which will require radical redesigning of cities and infrastructure. We also need to adapt our ways of life, so that society can bounce back more quickly from floods of all kinds when they do occur.”

Declared interests

The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it. As such, our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared – instead, they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.