Metropolitan mayors are set to be given control of regional innovation budgets for the first time under Labour¡¯s newly announced plan to spend more than ?22.5 billion on research annually by the end of the decade.

Ahead of this week¡¯s spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves said on 8 June that the Westminster government would invest ?86 billion in research and development over the next four years, with annual spending topping ?22.5 billion a year by 2029-30.

With the current outlay in excess of ?20 billion, this would represent an increase of around 10 per cent ¨C although sector organisations highlighted that this was broadly in line with projected inflation, so was likely to be ¡°flat¡± in real terms.

One key change, however, will see up to ?500 million pushed into a new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, likely to be controlled by directly elected mayors. Firm details of the spending criteria are yet to be announced, but ministers said that, under the initiative, ¡°local leaders will be given the powers to decide how to target their research investment in the region and make the most of skill sets of the community¡±.

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There will be dedicated awards of at least ?30 million for each of England¡¯s seven established mayoral strategic authorities ¨C Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool, the north-east and Greater London ¨C plus one equivalent region in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to be agreed with the devolved administrations.

Ministers said that the fund would also support a competition, open to all other parts of the UK.

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Devolving research funding has long been called for by advocates of the ¡°civic university¡± movement, arguing that making spending decisions locally could significantly boost the contribution of higher education institutions to the economies and communities on their doorstep.

¡°Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding,¡± said Peter Kyle, the science secretary.

Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, said the ¡°multi-year settlement¡± confirmed the government¡¯s ¡°continued commitment to the critical role of research and innovation in delivering a high-productivity, high-growth economy¡±.

¡°The new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is a welcome boost for this endeavour, ensuring that local communities across the UK can contribute to and benefit from a thriving research and innovation ecosystem,¡± Leyser said.

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said that ministers had ¡°made a smart investment in one of the UK¡¯s greatest strengths¡±.

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But Alicia Greated, executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, highlighted that, based on projected inflation, ¡°the spending plans announced today would appear to be broadly flat in real terms¡±.?

¡°While not the ambitious settlement we called for, in these difficult fiscal circumstances it is positive that the R&D budget has been protected,¡± she said.

Ministers also announced an investment of ?4.8 million over three years in the new partnership between the universities of Manchester and Cambridge, designed to attract more business investment and pilot new approaches to collaboration.

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Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said he was ¡°cautious¡± because of the lack of detail, ¡°but it does look like the core science budget could increase by 10 per cent over the next four years¡±.

¡°In difficult financial circumstances, that would be a vote of confidence in research and innovation and in the people and ideas that will increase productivity, drive growth and improve lives across the UK,¡± Smith said.

¡°Such an uplift would protect science from real-terms cuts in the coming years and hopefully lay the ground for real-terms increases once the country¡¯s finances improve.¡±

John-Arne R?ttingen, chief executive of the Wellcome Trust, added: ¡°While it's positive under the financial circumstances, a flat real-terms science budget, along with continuing barriers such as high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis, won¡¯t be enough for the UK make the advances it needs to secure its reputation for science in an increasingly competitive world.¡±

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chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com