Science Council Letter on the Spending Review

In 2021, ahead of the Spending Review, the Science Council sent this letter to emphasise the importance of science funding as part of a balanced budget. The letter made three recommendations:

1. Ensure consistent steady year on year rises in science funding, starting immediately to ensure credible progress towards the target of 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
2. Remedy cuts to science programmes impacted by the reduction of ODA, using funding from outside the reduced ODA budget.
3. Secure further investment in science education, including technical education, ensuring a strong skills pipeline to support the UK’s ambition to be a science superpower.

IES CEO Adam Donnan signed the letter in support, showing the strong consensus of the professional science community that science funding is an essential and wise investment.

For more recent information about the Science Council's position on science funding, see its 2026 letter on science funding proposals, which the IES also supported.

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