Recommendation 40

HM Government Acknowledged

The government partially agrees with this recommendation. Through our English Devolution White Paper we set out our ambition to support more local leaders, working in partnership with businesses and universities, to unlock their regions’ innovation potential to ensure everyone benefits from innovation-led growth. These commitments are complemented by funding programmes, such as the £2bn Investment Zones focused on creating the conditions for investment and innovation, that support innovation across all parts of the UK to ensure all regions, regardless of devolution status, can access tools, funding, and representation in national innovation policy. As set out above, DSIT and UKRI are making significant reforms to build closer partnership with local leaders to back locally led, high-potential innovation clusters in support of national objectives, including the Industrial Strategy. Where places can identify and evidence clusters with the potential to be competitive globally, UKRI will align its portfolio of activity behind them over time. It is only by making those choices, and building excellence and capability over time, that we can develop clusters that are internationally competitive. Underpinning this approach are focused programmes, including the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, which is empowering partnerships of local leaders, research organisations and industry to grow innovation clusters across the UK to help deliver innovation-led economic growth. We anticipate that if this first wave of Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is successful then this programme could be expanded. The programme has allocated funds to each of the seven regions with established Mayoral Strategic Authorities and has also recently announced the outcome of competitive awards for regions without devolution deals, including up to £20 million for the Great South West to develop, test and use autonomous technology like drones on land, at sea and in the air. The Great South West is a part of England that does not have Mayoral-level devolution at present, but where a ‘triple helix’ partnership of local leaders, research organisations and industry came together to put forward a high quality bid for support. Beyond support through Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, we are driving regional innovation through the government’s Industrial Strategy commitments, where we reiterated our full support for Freeports and Investment Zones. UKRI has networks of place-based staff who work with local partners to share information about relevant opportunities across UKRI and to help build local capability, including through and developing jointly-owned collaborative innovation plans across the UK. This approach will allow us to continue to grow R&D excellence wherever it is found. This will build on progress already made, with UKRI improving the regional distribution of R&D funding from 47% to 50% outside the Greater South East from FY21/22 to FY23/24. In summary, because of the actions we are taking in this area address the Committee’s recommendations, we do not believe a new framework is required at this time.