If the UK wants growth fuelled by R&D, universities need relief now

Straitened times call for difficult choices. In that context, the UK government’s proposed funding for R&D, laid out in its spending plans in mid-June, was about as good as it was going to get. Budgets will rise over the next five years, reaching a record £22.6 billion in 2029–30, but those rises are likely to be eaten up by inflation and essentially what we’re seeing is a flat cash settlement (see p8).