Michelle Donelan speaks to the Daily Express's David Maddox (Image: Daily Express)
Progress sometimes seems inevitable when it comes to science and technology. So inevitable, in fact, that we come to expect it like we do the changing of the seasons; a better smartphone, new cures for cancer, or cleaner, greener travel. However, progress is not actually inevitable.
It is the result of innovators and entrepreneurs working tirelessly together to push the boundaries of the possible.
Research and development – R&D – has shaped the world we live in for the better. We can only solve the great challenges of our time by backing innovative solutions, be they life-saving medical breakthroughs or new ways to tackle climate change, food insecurity or global poverty.
But, behind the scenes, innovation is also the key to delivering the kind of sustainable, long-term growth that improves our lives, day in, day out. Without the transformative power of science and tech, improving productivity, pay and living standards for British people just is not possible.
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In the past decade, the rise and rise of UK R&D has seen jobs rise by nearly a third; the sector now directly supports 2.5 million people across the country.
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Plans for Biobank's new facility (Image: Biobank)
That growth has put Britain right at the forefront of some of the century’s most important scientific work. The COVID 19 vaccine saved over six million lives in just one year and brought billions out of lockdown.
Sometimes, though, research and development can start with transforming just one life. Last year, Teddi Shaw became the first person on the NHS to be successfully treated for metachromatic leukodystrophy, a devastating genetic condition that affects five children born in England each year.
With the use of a revolutionary gene therapy, manufactured by the UK-based biotech company Orchard Therapeutics, Teddi can now look forward to living the kind of long, happy, healthy life that every child deserves.
These are just two of so many stories of R&D changing lives across the UK and world. Neither of them happened by accident either. They are the result of a government that recognises the importance of R&D.
A government that, in the last decade, has invested ￡137 billion in R&D across every part of the UK. A government whose partnerships with the private sector have helped public money to go even further. Start-ups boosted by public funding have raised ￡20 billion in investment between 2014 and 2022. For every ￡1 invested in grants by Innovate UK, our national innovation agency, our economy gets ￡6 back.
Our plan is working. But if we want to see more stories like Teddi’s, if we want to see a brighter future for Britain, we know that we have got to set out ambitions even higher.
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This is what motivated Prime Minister to create DSIT: a new department dedicated to providing our science and tech sectors with the support they need to succeed in the UK. In the year since, government has invested almost ￡19.4 billion in research and development – the highest level our country has ever seen.
I have been laser-focused on ensuring that every single pound of that funding is working hard for the public. I am reforming our research system to make it more productive, stripping back red tape so UK researchers can spend more of their time pursuing transformative discoveries, and less time tied down by pointless paperwork and unnecessary bureaucracy.
And my department is helping firms to identify the funding they need – and supporting investors to find opportunities to back the very best British businesses.
But we are also doubling down on our support for critical technologies like AI and semiconductors which will be essential if we are to deliver prosperity, security and opportunity for generations to come.
On Wednesday, I visited the UK Biobank, where I saw the tangible difference that investment is already making to British people’s lives.
The world’s most significant health research resource, the Biobank has recruited half a million people across the UK to amass an unparalleled wealth of genetic data. With ￡190m in government funding committed over the last year, scientists are already using that data to drive discoveries in the all-too-common diseases that affect hundreds of thousands of Britons each year.
With UK Biobank data, researchers have developed new tests that can better identify those at risk of coronary heart disease, helping them to make the lifestyle changes that may give them years more to live.
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Now, scientists are exploring the potential of AI to analyse cancer samples and enable earlier, more accurate detection. And I am confident that there will be many more extraordinary discoveries to come.
When we are dealing in the millions and billions, it is no wonder that taxpayers wonder where their money really goes. They have every right; it is the fundamental duty of every government to spend public money wisely, to the benefit of every British person. But my trip to Manchester was a reminder of just how wise an investment R&D is.
Because this is not about short-term fixes, stopgaps or sticking plasters. By backing innovation, we are investing in a long-term vision for Britain. The measure of our return will be faster growth, better jobs and, of course, better lives for British people in the decades to come.
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