Table of contents
Approximate read time: 25 minutes
This briefing provides an overview of the economic impact of science, technology and innovation in the UK and challenges connected to these sectors. It has been prepared to support a debate on the following motion scheduled to take place on 31 October 2024:
Viscount Stansgate (Labour) to move that this House takes note of the contribution of science and technology to the UK economy.
Viscount Stansgate is president of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, an all-party parliamentary group (APPG) focused on scientific and technological issues.[1]
1. Economic contribution of science and technology in the UK
1.1 Headline estimates
It is difficult to accurately pinpoint the economic contribution of science and technology to the UK economy. This is because of the way sectors are divided up and reported in financial statistics.
For example, in September 2024 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the following gross value added (GVA) figures by industry/sector for 2023:[2]
- £71bn for IT and other information service activities
- £20.6bn for scientific research and development
This would amount to £91.6bn, forming approximately 3.9% of the total UK GVA of £2,368.7bn for 2023. However, a number of other sectors could also be included in these figures, for example:
- the manufacture of computer, certain machinery and electrical components (valued at £38bn in 2023)
- telecommunications (valued at £34.5bn)
If these two sectors were included too, GVA across all four sectors would total £164.1bn, approximately 6.9% of the UK’s 2023 GVA. However, this would likely still exclude relevant contributions that happen to fall within the definitions of different industries. For example, the manufacture of spacecraft and related machinery falls within the same sector as the manufacture of aircraft in the ONS’s data (this sector was valued at £10.8bn for 2023).
Alternatively, others have made estimates of the economic contribution of more specific sectors connected to science and technology. For example:
- Oxford Economics, an economic advisory firm, has estimated that, in 2023, the life sciences sector contributed over £13bn to the UK economy and employed one in every 121 employed people[3]
- the government has estimated the value of the digital sector (comprising information technology and digital content and media) at £158.3bn for 2022[4]
- a 2023 government report estimated the value of the UK’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector at around £3.7bn (in terms of GVA) and that the sector employed around 50,040 people[5]
- the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation, reported estimates that the GVA of the UK’s net zero economy (encompassing sectors such as renewables, carbon capture, green and certain manufacturing) was £74bn in 2022/23 and that it supported approximately 765,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs[6]
1.2 Royal Society paper on the economic contribution of science
In a June 2024 paper on science and the economy, the Royal Society highlighted the importance of science and innovation to the UK economy and stressed how hard it was to measure the true economic impact of these areas of activity. Commenting on the importance of science and innovation, it stated:
Scientific research, and the innovations that build on it, have transformed the world. Some of the outcomes are highly visible—for example new treatments for disease or new consumer electronic devices. Others are less visible but provide the infrastructure for the modern economy, such as the network of fibre optic cables and associated optoelectronics on which the entire internet runs. Science underpins innovation and technological advancement. This drives productivity which in turn boosts wages. Science-led innovation also benefits the economy indirectly, by contributing to national security, environmental protection and public health.[7]
Discussing the difficulty of measuring science’s economic impact, the paper stated that many innovations took a while to filter through into the economy and that their impact was often felt by a range of people, rather than a defined group or area. It also reasoned that the impact of science and innovation was often underestimated, and that it should instead be considered through four interconnected paths:
- New knowledge and ideas: Scientific research produces specific bodies of knowledge and process that can be applied for economic benefit.
- Innovation and productivity: The application of bodies of knowledge and process spills over into innovation and productivity gains.
- Skilled people and jobs: Scientific research and development (R&D) has a significant impact on human capital, through education and training and the generation of new types of jobs.
- Wider economic impacts which are not directly monetised: Science generates important benefits that enable other economic activity, from improved public health to environmental protection and national security.[8]
The paper presented three case studies to assess these areas, looking at the development of optical fibres (the photonics industry), high temperature alloys and synthetic insulin. As part of this analysis, it also looked at measures of the possible economic contribution of these industries. For example, it said the photonics industry contributed around £15.2bn to the UK economy and had a productivity level of around £89,400 per employee.[9]
One of the overarching messages in the paper was the importance of “basic research” as a platform for innovation and development. It stressed the importance of R&D funding in this regard. For example, it stated:
Without sufficient basic research capacity, an economy can neither produce the cutting edge knowledge and processes that underpin future economic benefits, nor capitalise on such discoveries made elsewhere. Yet there is a market failure when it comes to producing such research. Curiosity-driven science benefits the economy over long timescales and spreads more widely than applied knowledge, transforming the economy in ways that are impossible to predict.
The development of computers and the internet, for example, which have become central to everything in the global economy, built on decades of foundational investigations in electromagnetism and theoretical mathematics. The rapid production of vaccines to combat Covid-19 was underpinned by years of accumulated research on mRNA and coronaviruses. The origins of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing—another significant intervention during the pandemic—can be traced back to the chance discovery of a micro-organism, Thermus aquaticus, in the 1960s. Much of the underpinning science in all of these cases was publicly funded.[10]
The paper also discussed how this initial research can be supported and incentivised. It described demand-side policies that are often used, such as “innovation-friendly” public procurement and regulations. It then said that supply-side policies were also critical, as these focused on broadening institutions’ capacities to innovate. The paper listed the following options as supply-side policies:
These policies include various forms of government support such as tax incentives, direct subsidies, grants and direct equity participation aimed at increasing firms’ incentives to invest in innovation as well as strengthening human capital and increasing public investment in R&D. Publicly funded R&D can crowd in or leverage investment from private firms that would not have otherwise occurred.[11]
On R&D funding, the paper stressed that public R&D investment tends to leverage increased private investment. It quoted estimates that:
[In] the long-run, public R&D investment continues to leverage private R&D spending in future years, resulting in a long-term impact more than three times the short-term impact. The leverage rate was estimated to be greater at between 1.01% and 1.32%. In monetary terms this means that in the UK for every £1 of public R&D invested, between £1.96 and £2.34 of private R&D investment is stimulated in the long-run.[12]
2. Challenges affecting the science and technology sector
2.1 Council on Geostrategy survey on key challenges
In June 2024 the Council on Geostrategy, a think tank looking at climate change and the UK’s global status, published a paper on the role of science and technology in achieving the UK’s net zero ambitions.[13] As part of this, it carried out a survey with scientists, business figures and leaders, policymakers and policy experts on barriers ‘holding back’ science and research in the UK. The survey had 64 respondents, including from universities, technology businesses and government agencies (for example, UK Research and Innovation).
The report summarised seven key challenges reported by the survey respondents:
- Incoherent strategy: The UK’s current approach to science and technology lacks a coherent long-term vision.
- Average business investment: While British research and development (R&D) expenditure has increased, business investment has stagnated, showing potential for improvement.
- Short-term funding: Funding mechanisms often prioritise short-term projects, stifling long-term innovation.
- Bureaucratic burden: The current application process for funding is cumbersome, particularly for small businesses.
- Risk aversion: The UK should be more comfortable with calculated risks in R&D, especially in areas critical for realising net zero.
- Skills gap: Britain’s current visa system is a barrier to attracting top international talent, and risks making the country a less competitive environment internationally.
- Limited access to infrastructure: R&D infrastructure will decline without investment and maintenance, and there is inadequate access to key infrastructure, such as laboratories and data centres, which hinders research efforts in the UK.[14]
It then set out recommendations for how the government could address these challenges in the context of the UK’s net zero ambitions. Some of the broader recommendations included:[15]
- ringfencing R&D spending and introducing legislation to ensure it is linked to a proportion of GDP spend
- developing a cross-departmental plan focused on achieving prosperity through science and technology
- expanding the roles and resources of Innovate UK (the government agency supporting innovation in business) and the Government Office for Science (which provides science advice across government), suggesting that the latter should be given more responsibilities to monitor the UK’s progress against the international landscape
- generating a long-term plan for British science and technology skills and talent, including visas
- developing a 10-year funding plan focused on R&D spending in areas of science and technology identified as being of national importance to the UK’s long-term strategy
- utilising public procurement to support the sector, including early stage businesses
- improving databases of science and technology R&D knowledge and capabilities
- legislating to prevent businesses key to the UK’s science and technology plans from being sold off to overseas competitors
2.2 STEM skills shortages
An often mentioned issue affecting the science and technology sector in the UK is a shortfall in available employees with STEM skills (skills relevant to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics). For example, the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), which represents scientific organisations and advocates for science and engineering, has stated that any increases in R&D would need to be supported by investment to ensure people had the requisite STEM skills to meet increased demand. It also highlighted the STEM shortages in some areas of the economy and the estimated economic impact:
The UK’s science and engineering base is only as strong as the people who work within it […] Wider skills provision will be needed to meet the requirements of an expanding R&D sector, fill current skills gaps, and support skills that will be needed in the future.
There is a need to develop a greater number of people with STEM skills. The shortage of STEM skills in the UK is an ongoing problem and has been estimated to cost the UK economy £1.5bn per year. The UK government has suggested that the R&D sector will need at least an additional 150,000 researchers and technicians by 2030 to sustain the UK’s ambitions for R&D.[16] The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has estimated a shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the STEM sector, an average of 10 unfilled roles per business in the UK. In addition, the IET’s Skills Survey published in 2021 identified that half (49%) of engineering businesses are experiencing difficulties in the skills available to them when trying to recruit.[17]
It called for a number of actions to be taken to address this issue and increase STEM provision in the UK, including:[18]
- ensuring education provision is better aligned with the needs of employers and government priorities (for example, through sponsorships from businesses to provide training or partnerships between industry and education providers)
- incentives to support smaller employers with workplace learning, including by streamlining the regulatory framework for apprenticeships
- increased funding for the further education sector, with a focus on supporting infrastructure and teaching
- better highlighting local opportunities; for example, CaSE suggested city and regional deals use their convening power to lead awareness campaigns and that the UK government and devolved administrations should ensure career programmes highlight local opportunities and make connections with businesses
- make it easier for talented people to get visas to come to the UK, including by reducing costs and complexity of visa schemes both for individuals and businesses
The Unit for Future Skills, a research unit within the Department for Education, has published a dashboard looking at STEM jobs in the UK.[19] This lists vacancy numbers (broken down by ‘hard to fill vacancies’ and ‘skills-shortage vacancies’) for various occupations in the UK. It also states that, for the period July 2022 to June 2023, there were 9.4 million people in STEM employment (making up 29% of all UK employment), but that the proportion of women in these jobs (25%) was lower than the proportion across all occupations (48%).
2.3 Horizon scanning paper by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
On 8 October 2024, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) published a research paper on harnessing scientific and technological innovation in the UK.[20] This was based on a horizon scanning consultation of experts to identify potential priorities for the government’s science and technology policies, including in R&D.
Overall, the paper noted the positive position of the UK on the world stage and recent government policies focused on UK science and technology (some of which are highlighted in section 3 of this briefing). For example, it highlighted the establishment of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology by the Conservative government in February 2023, which it said marked the “first time science has had a dedicated secretary of state since 1994”.[21]
Despite this, the paper said that experts had noted the “right policies could boost innovation and encourage the growth and scale-up of companies”.[22] For example, it highlighted observations on the need to address the funding issues in the higher education sector:
Various experts have highlighted the pivotal role of universities in supporting regional economies and driving cutting-edge research and innovation, such as making new scientific and medical discoveries or creating new products and jobs for the future.
However, higher education institutions face mounting financial pressures. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in 2022 and former government ministers in 2024 have questioned the long-term sustainability of the higher education funding models. The Office for Students reported that 40% of UK universities will run at a budgetary deficit in 2024.[23]
It made a number of recommendations to address this challenge, including:
- removing disincentives for international students to study in the UK to increase and improve the reliability of this income stream for universities
- increasing funding for teaching through government grants and index-linking the cap on university fees
- establishing a single government department for higher education to enable better long-term financial planning and ensure policymaking in other departments does not have an adverse impact on the sector
The paper also stressed the importance of helping companies that “spin-out” from universities (these are companies formed by university academics or researchers to commercialise research carried out at the university), noting that they often faced funding challenges in their early stages. The paper highlighted a recommendation to expand the UK Catapult Network, which is comprised of “centres supporting innovation through providing infrastructure, links between academia and industry and facilitating funding”.[24] It quoted comments from a House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report saying that “SMEs that had worked with catapults grew 50% faster than those that had not, with an average five-times return on investment”.[25]
The paper also raised:[26]
- Collaboration: It stressed the importance of international collaboration in driving the global influence of the UK’s research and innovation. It highlighted knowledge transfer, pooling of resources, and access to large facilities such as CERN as examples.
- Skills: It echoed points made in the CaSE paper above about the importance of dealing with skills shortages and forging local connections. In addition, it said there were calls to address the issue of an ageing workforce through recruiting, retaining and retraining older workers. It said this could then be used to address skills shortages and to help the workforce harness technological innovations.
- National strategies: It highlighted calls for national strategies focused on specific technologies. For example, it said that the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change had recommended an industrial strategy focused on AI to fully realise the potential benefits to the economy, public health and education of innovations in that field. The paper stated that the strategy could support the reforms needed to realise these benefits, including investment in IT systems, establishing AI innovation centres, and creating a regulatory framework for its use and development.
- Key uncertainties/unknowns: It said that many sectors would be impacted by resource constraints that could slow their development. It gave the example of semiconductors, which it said would drive the technological innovations leading to the prosperity, security and global competitiveness of the UK, including AI and electric vehicles. However, it stressed that the semiconductor supply chain was “highly vulnerable to disruptions”, including from geopolitical events that could cause delays in obtaining products, price rises, disruptions to infrastructure and national security risks.[27]
3. Recent government policies to support science and technology
3.1 Science and technology framework
Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government published a science and technology framework for the UK in 2023. It said that the motivation behind the policy, which formed part of the ‘Science and technology superpower’ agenda, was that “science and technology will be the major driver of prosperity, power and history-making events this century”.[28]
The then government explained that the framework set out its vision for science and technology and would guide policy in the area. It also said that the framework had been developed in collaboration with the science and technology sector and its delivery would be overseen by the National Science and Technology Council, a cabinet committee chaired by the prime minister.
The framework set out 10 key areas of action, including:
- Identifying critical technologies: It highlighted AI, engineering biology, future telecommunications, semiconductors and quantum technologies as five technologies for initial focus. It said that work should include developing a pro-innovation approach to regulating AI and establishing plans to protect any strategic advantage developed against state threats.
- Investment in R&D: Achieving increased private sector investment and improving investment in R&D (by at least 40%) in areas outside the greater south-east.
- Talent and skills: Improving STEM skills and education, including more opportunities for a diverse range of people to work in STEM and easy access to high skilled visas.
- Financing and procurement: Improving access to capital for science and technology businesses (for example, through the British Business Bank and pension schemes) and requiring government departments to seek out innovation via their strategies and procurement.
- International opportunities: Building up science and technology-based international partnerships based on existing links (such as the G7 and G20) and expanding the network of tech envoys in the UK’s diplomatic network.
- Regulation and standards: Requiring regulators to have clear mandates to support innovation and champion the “global technical standards ecosystem that underpins international governance of critical technologies”.
The Conservative government published a progress paper in February 2024.[29] This highlighted numerous investments and other government policies relating to the areas set out in the framework. The progress paper also set out an area-by-area analysis of other work undertaken. For example, in the area on critical technologies, it highlighted the UK’s AI safety summit held in November 2023 and investment in AI hubs and AI-related scholarships.
Full details can be seen in the full framework and progress documents.[30]
Answering a written question about the framework on 30 July 2024 on behalf of the new Labour government, Feryal Clark, the parliamentary under secretary of state for AI and digital government, said:
The science and technology framework provides a holistic picture of the critical levers to target science and technology to drive growth and improve the lives of citizens. Work under the science and technology framework has shown the benefit of taking a cross-[government], systems approach to science and technology. The framework will act as a policy tool to support the delivery of core priorities, such as [Labour’s] five missions and industrial strategy.[31]
3.2 Research and development funding
Boris Johnson’s Conservative government also made commitments on R&D spending. In March 2022 it committed to spending £20bn a year on R&D by 2024/25, which it said represented a 33% increase across the parliament.[32] It said that UK Research and Innovation, the funding agency for science and research, would receive £25bn across three years. It suggested the money would increase business confidence in the sector and would leverage increased private investment. The then government added that it had set a target of spending 2.4% of GDP on R&D by 2027.
The latest set of ONS figures on public R&D funding, published in April 2024, stated that:
- The UK government’s net expenditure on research and development (R&D) (excluding EU R&D budget contributions) rose to £15.5bn in 2022, from £14.0bn in 2021, an increase of 10.5%.
- Total net expenditure on R&D, including EU R&D budget contributions and knowledge transfer activities was £16.4bn in 2022, an increase of 8.9% from £15.0bn in 2021.[33]
In August 2024, the ONS reported that gross domestic expenditure on R&D reached £70.7bn in the UK in 2022, an increase of £4.4bn since 2021 and £12.4bn since 2018.[34] It said that the business sector made up 71% of this. In addition, an OECD report showed that the UK’s R&D spend as a percentage of GDP was higher than the OECD and EU average in 2022.[35] It was above countries such as France and China on this measure (although China’s contribution in monetary terms was significantly higher), but behind countries such as Germany, Japan and the US (these countries spent more on R&D as a proportion of GDP and in monetary terms).
Labour has not committed to maintaining or pursuing these R&D funding targets, stressing the pressures on the public finances.[36] However, Labour’s manifesto did pledge to abolish short funding cycles for key R&D institutions, typically three years in length, in favour of 10-year budgets that would allow “meaningful partnerships with industry to keep the UK at the forefront of global innovation”.[37] Labour identified six areas for 10-year budgets, including aerospace, AI, automotive, defence, energy and life sciences. These areas align with Labour’s industrial strategy priorities and sector plans they have pledged to develop in government. The party also indicated in February 2024 that it would maintain the current structure and the current rates of R&D tax credits (at a minimum) over the next parliament.[38].
3.3 Other government policy announcements on science and technology
Labour’s 2024 election manifesto set out commitments across a number of areas related to science and technology.[39] This included the development of a new industrial strategy with a focus on specific sectors, investment in data centres and the use of data in the UK, and implementing reforms to the planning system to support innovation by making it easier to build laboratories, digital infrastructure, and gigafactories. Some of these commitments are summarised below, alongside more recent developments.
Industrial strategy consultation
On 17 October 2024, the Labour government launched a consultation on its industrial strategy and committed to publishing the strategy in spring 2025.[40] It said the strategy would focus on eight key growth-driving sectors: advanced manufacturing; clean energy industries; creative industries; defence; digital and technologies; financial services; life sciences; and professional and business services. Details on its suggestions for a selection of these were as follows:[41]
- Advanced manufacturing: It said that UK manufacturers produce essential goods, parts, and components needed to sustain and protect citizens in the UK and globally. For example, it highlighted the UK’s electric vehicle battery production. However, it said that the UK needed to compete with many countries who provide “sizable” subsidies and incentives to drive investment in the sector. It said the UK needed to remove barriers and build on its strengths, including its in university sector, catapults and trade openness.
- Clean energy industries: The paper said that clean energy industries were a major driver of global growth, with over 90% of global GDP now covered by net zero targets. It said the UK was well-placed to take advantage of these opportunities, but needed to tackle barriers including high capital investment requirements, international competition and skills shortages. It also highlighted estimates that an additional £50 to £60bn of annual capital investment would be required through the late 2020s and 2030s to meet the UK’s net zero ambitions. However, it argued this would be “money well spent” as the rewards would be significant.
- Digital and technologies: The paper spoke of the significant changes to the economy driven by digital technologies in recent years, including advances in AI. It also stated that digital and technology businesses had been responsible for transformative shifts in productivity. It expected this trend to continue in the coming years. It said that the UK was in a strong position to exploit these opportunities, claiming that its “tech ecosystem” was valued at over $1tn (saying this ranked the UK third behind the US and China). To encourage further growth, it said the government would focus on a range of technologies and their commercialisation, with a portfolio backing smaller and more disruptive businesses, alongside larger, better established, businesses in existing sectors.
- Life sciences: The government said that the life sciences sector had “enormous” potential to drive economic growth and productivity, while also significantly improving health outcomes across the country. It said that the sector provided goods that are critical to the economy and society, and increased the UK’s resilience, for example, to epidemics. It noted how the sector could be “propelled” by AI, data availability, innovative manufacturing and other initiatives. The government said it would strengthen the areas of life sciences where the UK was already effective, alongside increased innovation and collaboration involving business, academia, and the health system.
The paper said the government would pursue sector-specific and wider policies to ensure the UK was a pro-business environment and also tap into the country’s potential in areas outside London and the south-east. It highlighted a number of key policy areas to achieve these goals, including international partnerships and trade, people and skills, innovation, and the regulatory environment.
National wealth fund and British Business Bank
In June 2024, Labour pledged to fund innovation in part through a national wealth fund (NWF) valued at £7.3bn.[42] However, when the new government announced the fund in October 2024 it stated that £5.8bn would be delivered via the fund, with the remaining money reserved to “maintain flexibility”. It also said the fund would take over funding from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), explaining:
The NWF will have a total capitalisation of £27.8bn to catalyse investment that would not have otherwise taken place. It will inherit UKIB’s existing £22bn capitalisation and have an additional £5.8bn, which will be committed over this parliament. The government previously announced that £7.3bn additional funding would be allocated through the NWF—the remaining £1.5bn has been reserved to maintain flexibility in how the government can best deliver against its aims for the NWF. With a target portfolio mobilisation ratio of 1:3, the NWF could mobilise at least £70bn of private investment.[43]
The government said the NWF and other institutions (such as the British Business Bank (BBB)) would support the delivery of the industrial strategy “in areas where an undersupply in private finance exists”.[44] It clarified that at least £5.8 billion of the NWF’s capital would focus on five sectors mentioned in Labour’s manifesto: green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel.
The government has also announced a new British growth partnership as part of the BBB and reforms to the BBB’s framework.[45] It explained:
The British growth partnership will allow the [BBB] to do more by creating a new way for the BBB and institutional investors to invest in innovative companies together. Leveraging the BBB’s market expertise, these long-term investments will be made independently of government on a fully commercial basis. In the coming months, the BBB will seek to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of investment for this fund, with the aim of making investments by the end of 2025.
Additionally, the government will implement a set of reforms to the BBB’s financial framework that will increase its impact and increase its ability to respond flexibly to the market, including by putting the [BBB]’s £7.9bn set of commercial programmes on a permanent footing.
Responding to this, the BBB set out its view that these announcements would enable it to improve its investment in UK technology and innovation.[46]
These announcements were made at the UK’s International Investment Summit, held in October 2024. The summit included several other announcements relating to science and technology in the UK, including private investment in AI and data industries. Further details can be found in the House of Commons Library briefing, ‘International investment summit’ (16 October 2024).
Changes to support AI and the use of data
In July 2024, the government pledged to expand the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology by bringing together experts in data, digital and AI from the Government Digital Service, the Central Digital and Data Office, and the Incubator for AI to “unite efforts in the digital transformation of public services under one department”.[47]
The Labour manifesto also contended that existing UK regulators were ill-equipped to deal with the “dramatic development of new technologies” such as AI, which often cut across traditional industries and sectors.[48] As a result, the manifesto pledged to create a new Regulatory Innovation Office, bringing together existing functions across government. This office was launched on 8 October 2024 with the goal of reducing the burden for businesses bringing new products and services to the market in some of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors, including AI. It hoped to achieve this through:
- supporting regulators to update regulation
- ensuring different regulatory bodies work together smoothly
- continuously informing the government of regulatory barriers to innovation and setting priorities for regulators in line with the government’s ambitions to grow the economy
On AI more generally, the government has committed to consult on legislation to ensure its safe development and introduce “targeted requirements on companies developing the most powerful AI systems”.[49]
In addition, during the King’s Speech in July 2024 the government announced it would introduce a Digital Information and Smart Data Bill.[50] It said the bill would be focused on harnessing the power of data for economic growth, improvement of government and public services and to improve people’s lives. On economic growth more specifically, it said the legislation would put three potentially innovative uses of data on a statutory footing. It said people could choose to participate in these and it hoped they would drive innovation, investment and productivity. It said these uses would be:
- Establishing digital verification services, which make people’s everyday lives easier through innovative and secure technology. These measures support the creation and adoption of secure and trusted digital identity products and services from certified providers to help with things like moving house, pre-employment checks, and buying age restricted goods and services.
- Developing a national underground asset register, a new digital map that is revolutionising the way we install, maintain, operate and repair the pipes and cables buried beneath our feet. It gives planners and excavators standardised, secure, instant access to the data they need, when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely.
- Setting up smart data schemes, which are the secure sharing of a customer’s data upon their request, with authorised third-party providers.[51]
The government introduced the legislation as the Data (Use and Access) Bill in the House of Lords on 23 October 2024.[52]
Labour’s manifesto also committed the party to creating a national data library, which it said would “bring together existing research programmes and help deliver data-driven public services, whilst maintaining strong safeguards and ensuring all of the public benefit”.[53] Labour has since said that this is being taken forward by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but gave no timescale for this.[54]
Other recent government announcements relating to AI and data include:
- further private investment in UK data centres, which it said would provide the UK with improved infrastructure to continue advancements in AI and related technologies[55]
- designating data centres as critical national infrastructure, which it said puts data centres on an equal footing as water, energy and emergency services systems and means they will receive greater government support in recovering from and anticipating critical incidents (such as cyber attacks or weather incidents)[56]
- the establishment of a panel of 12 digital experts to help create a 10-year vision for a ‘digital centre’ to drive innovation, transform services, improve lives, and unlock the full potential of digital and data[57]
- £32mn of investment in AI projects to help the public (for example, by improving the efficiency of prescription deliveries) and establishing a new AI opportunities action plan to identify ways AI can improve people’s lives through better services and products[58]
4. Read more
- House of Lords Library, ‘King’s Speech 2024: Science, technology and innovation’, 10 July 2024
- House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, ‘Legacy: Parliament 2019–24’, 29 May 2024, HC 826 of session 2023–24
- Kieron Flanagan et al, ‘Can the UK be a ‘science and technology superpower’?’, Royal United Services Institute, 1 May 2024
- Richard Jones, ‘Surely there’s more to science than money? Economic determinism fails to capture science’s practical social benefit’, 17 June 2014, London School of Economics Impact blog
- Peter Foster et al, ‘UK innovation will be undermined by science department budget squeeze, industry leaders warn’, Financial Times (£), 18 October 2024
Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash
References
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- Oxford Economics, ‘UK life sciences are set for growth, but challenges remain’, 26 February 2024. Return to text
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- As above, p 6. Return to text
- This refers to the previous Conservative government’s ‘R&D people and culture strategy’ published in July 2021. Return to text
- Campaign for Science and Engineering, ‘Skills opportunity: Building a more innovative UK’, June 2023. Return to text
- As above, pp 5–20. Return to text
- Department for Education, ‘Unit for Future Skills: Jobs and skills dashboard’, accessed 24 October 2024. Return to text
- Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, ‘Harnessing scientific and technological innovation in the UK’, 8 October 2024. Return to text
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- As above. Return to text
- As above. Return to text
- House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, ‘Legacy: Parliament 2019–24’, 29 May 2024, HC 826 of session 2023–24. See also: UK Catapult Network, ‘About us’, accessed 22 October 2024. Return to text
- Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, ‘Harnessing scientific and technological innovation in the UK’, 8 October 2024. Return to text
- As above. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘UK science and technology framework’, updated 9 February 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘The UK science and technology framework: Update on progress’, 9 February 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘UK science and technology framework’, updated 9 February 2024; and ‘The UK science and technology framework: Update on progress’, 9 February 2024. Return to text
- House of Commons, ‘Written question: Science and technology (1136)’, 30 July 2024. Return to text
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, ‘Government announces plans for largest ever R&D budget’, 14 March 2022. Return to text
- Office for National Statistics, ‘Research and development expenditure by the UK government: 2022’, 30 April 2024. Return to text
- Office for National Statistics, ‘Gross domestic expenditure on research and development, UK: 2022’, 8 August 2024. Return to text
- OECD, ‘OECD main science and technology indicators’, March 2024, p 2. Return to text
- HC Hansard, 16 October 2024, col 820. Return to text
- Labour Party, ‘Labour Party manifesto 2024’, June 2024, p 35. Return to text
- Labour Party, ‘A prescription for growth: Labour’s plan for the life sciences sector’, 5 February 2024, p 29 Return to text
- Labour Party, ‘Labour Party manifesto 2024’, June 2024. Return to text
- Department for Business and Trade, ‘Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy’, 17 October 2024. Return to text
- As above. Return to text
- Guardian, ‘Labour’s green plans will create 650,000 jobs, says Rachel Reeves’, 16 June 2024. Return to text
- HM Treasury, ‘National wealth fund’, October 2024, p 7. Return to text
- As above. Return to text
- HM Treasury et al, ‘Chancellor announces new plans to secure UK investment’, 14 October 2024. Return to text
- British Business Bank, ‘British Business Bank responds to package of measures announced at the international investment summit to drive economic growth and reform the Bank’, 14 October 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘DSIT bolstered to better serve the British public through science and technology’, 8 July 2024. Return to text
- Labour Party, ‘Labour Party manifesto 2024’, June 2024, p 35. Return to text
- HL Hansard, 17 October 2024, cols 251–2. Return to text
- Prime Minister’s Office, ‘King’s Speech: Background briefing notes’, 17 July 2024, pp 39–41. Return to text
- As above, p 39. Return to text
- UK Parliament, ‘Data (Use and Access) Bill’, accessed 24 October 2024. Return to text
- Labour Party, ‘Labour Party manifesto 2024’, June 2024, p 35. Return to text
- House of Commons, ‘Written question: Research: Databases (1053)’, 30 July 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘Tech secretary welcomes foreign investment in UK data centres which will spur economic growth and AI innovation in Britain’, 14 October 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘Data centres to be given massive boost and protections from cyber criminals and IT blackouts’, 12 September 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘Tech experts to shape government digital vision to drive innovation and boost public services’, 1 October 2024. Return to text
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘AI to reduce train delays, speed up NHS prescriptions and train construction workers gets £32mn boost’, 7 August 2024. Return to text