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BOOST FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH TO DRIVE INNOVATION IN HEALTH

The Medical Research Council will receive almost £2 billion to help keep the UK at the forefront of medical advances it was announced today.

Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), John Denham, outlined how the Science Budget will be allocated for the next three years, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Advances such as the discovery of penicillin, the link between smoking and cancer and the development of MRI scanning took place in the UK. A funding rise of 30 per cent over the next three years for medical research will provide a major boost to the impact of research on the nation's health.

A major new research programme to tackle environmental change and more funding to help strengthen links between business and academia to drive Britain?s economic success are also key elements in a bold new plan for science funding.

The overall Science Budget will increase from £3.4 billion per year in 2007/8 to almost £4 billion per year by 2010/11 - taking Government support for the UK's research base to its highest level ever.

The funding boost will ensure that the UK retains its place as a hub for global scientific excellence, drawing in the finest British and international research talent. It will also further increase the economic and social impact of research, from healing severe wounds more effectively, or helping research cures for deadly illnesses, right through to combating credit card fraud with new technology or developing low-carbon alternatives to help the environment.

Mr Denham said:

DIUS funding supports world class research and its exploitation. We link the research base and business so that Britain can be the best place in the world for enterprise and innovation.

My announcement today will enable the UK to maintain its world leading position in research excellence and to build up even stronger exploitation. In doing so we will build a strong economy and a cohesive society that can meet the global challenges of the 21st century.

Scientific discoveries have transformed the lives of all of us. This allocation provides researchers with the resources to help translate research into new drugs and treatments which could have an impact right across society. This funding boost raises the impact that science has on the economy and public services.

Key allocations include:

  • Funding for a number of multi-disciplinary research programmes including:
    • a major contribution to the £1 billion programme 'Living with Environmental Change' which brings together over a dozen organisations; and
    • an exciting new research programme on 'Life-Long Health and Well Being' which explores the biological, physical, environmental and social factors associated with the ageing process at all stages of life;
    • increased investment in key areas of national importance, such as energy research and stem cells.
  • Almost £2bn for medical research over three years to fund both basic and translational research in line with the recommendations in Sir David Cooksey's report on health research.
  • A boost to funding for knowledge transfer programmes, including the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) which will receive £150m a year by 2010/11 to strengthen links between academia and business and help take research to the market.
  • £120m funding commitment from the Research Councils for collaboration with the Technology Strategy Board to promote strengthened links between researchers and business and the development of innovative new technology. This forms part of the £1bn strategy to drive business innovation and success announced on 5 October 2007 alongside the Sainsbury Review.
  • Increasing the budget for the successful Science Bridges scheme to £12m to foster stronger links with international researchers alongside the International Fellowships run by the National Academies. This will help forge stronger links with the US, China, and India in particular.
  • A new Capital Investment Fund is being created for universities carrying out Research Council funded projects. This permanent funding stream replaces the temporary Science Research Investment Fund programme which has successfully completed its task of making good the backlog in investment in research infrastructure. The new fund will help Universities maintain their research infrastructure and avoid the backlog problem reoccurring.

Notes to Editors

  1. The following sets out the allocations for each of the Research Councils and other main programmes funded out of the Science Budget.
    CSR 07
    Science Budget Allocations 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 CSR07 Total End CSR07 Increase
    Baseline £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
    AHRC 96,792 103,492 104,397 108,827 316,716 12.4%
    BBSRC 386,854 427,000 452,563 471,057 1,350,620 21.8%
    ESRC 149,881 164,924 170,614 177,574 513,112 18.5%
    EPSRC 711,112 795,057 814,528 843,465 2,453,050 18.6%
    MRC 543,399 605,538 658,472 707,025 1,971,035 30.1%
    NERC 372,398 392,150 408,162 436,000 1,236,312 17.1%
    STFC 573,464 623,641 630,337 651,635 1,905,613 13.6%
    Total Research Councils 2,833,900 3,111,802 3,239,073 3,395,584 9,746,459 19.8%
    Less Depreciation and Impairments -85,748 -124,748 -141,748 -153,748 -420,244  
    Research Councils - note 1 2,748,152 2,987,054 3,097,325 3,241,836 9,326,215 18%
    Capital - LFCF 104,681 104,681 138,428 265,285 508,394 153.4%
    University Capital 300,000 266,711 258,149 214,851 739,711 -28.4%
    Academies 72,209 76,179 83,023 87,832 247,035 21.6%
    KT - HEIF 85,000 85,000 99,000 113,000 297,000 32.9%
    Other 72,381 34,798 39,498 47,618 121,914 -34.2%
    Total Central Programmes 634,271 567,369 618,098 728,586 1,914,054 14.9%
                 
    Science Budget 3,382,423 3,554,423 3,715,423 3,970,423 11,240,269 17.4%

    Note 1: The Research Council allocations shown are the combined totals for resource and capital expenditure. A deduction for depreciation and impairments is made to eliminate double counting between the resource and capital elements.

  2. 'Living with Environmental Change' & 'Life-Long Health and Well Being' are two of the examples of cross Research Council programmes which the Science Budget will support. These programmes will leverage investment from a range of sources.
  3. The Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) is headed by John Bell. DIUS has agreed to provide an overall allocation for the Medical Research Council of almost £2bn over the whole CSR period.
  4. Lord Sainsbury's recent review of UK Science & Innovation recommended that funding for the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) increased, and moving it to a full formula allocation, which we will implement. This will provide certainty of funding for higher education institutes and drive knowledge transfer activities. HEIF is a joint funding stream between the Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) and the DIUS Science Budget. The figures announced today, combined with the HEFCE component, take the total to £150m per annum in the final year of the CSR period. This meets the recommendation made by Richard Lambert in his 2003 report on University Business Collaboration.
  5. The Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills' (DIUS) primary role is to drive forward delivery of the Government's long-term vision to make Britain one of the best places in the world for science, research and innovation and to raise the level of education and skills at every level in our economy to give the UK the competitive edge.
  6. The Science Bridges programme currently receives £6m over the two years of the SR04 spending period. To build on the success of the programme funding will rise to £12m over the CSR07 period.
  7. The Science Research Investment Fund has successfully enabled Universities to tackle the historic backlog of underinvestment in research infrastructure. We are therefore moving to a new, permanent, funding stream that will provide predictable investment capital in future. In the CSR period the level of funding from the Science Budget for University Capital, together with funding from Funding Councils across the UK (not included in the table above), will allow Universities to maintain their research infrastructure at a sustainable level into the future.
  8. The UK's leading edge scientific research and development is underpinned by investment in large capital facilities. This allocation provides £186m additional capital to the Large Facilities Capital Fund. This will enable funding of large facility projects located in the UK but also, where appropriate and where we can secure the greatest value for money, through international collaboration. Our most recent analysis of future potential large facility projects, and the Roadmapping and prioritisation process we are embarking upon, has indicated that there is scope for a substantially increased investment in this area. The CSR settlement sees the LFCF increase by some 153 per cent over the CSR period. This will allow for new facilities which will continue to develop the UK's globally leading role in science and technology development.
  9. The Chancellor announced in the Budget on 21 March an early CSR settlement for the former Department for Trade and Industry's science budget. Select here for more information.
  10. Regional case study examples of Research Council research. More examples can be found here