Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

UK Research and Innovation

Status: Closed Opened: 26 Mar 2025 Closed: 22 Sep 2025 10 recommendations 20 conclusions 1 report

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is an arm’s-length body of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). With a total annual budget of £9.6bn in 2023/24, UKRI is the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation. Government considers R&D and new technologies to be vital to the UK’s future and major policy goals …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
41st Report - UK Research and Innovation HC 826 23 Jul 2025 30 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
30 Conclusion 41st Report - UK Research and Innovation Acknowledged

Universities face significant financial challenges threatening R&D due to declining international student fees.

We asked whether our witnesses had concerns that some universities are running into funding difficulties, which could seriously impair research and innovation. Professor Boyle told us that there is an extremely difficult financial environment at present in the university sector due to a decline in income from international student fees, …

Government response. The government acknowledged the concerns about university funding difficulties, stating DSIT will consider the impact on financial sustainability when deciding UKRI allocations and uses analyses to understand the challenges universities face.
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
5 Jun 2025 Alexandra Jones · Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS · UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Professor Paul Boyle CBE · Swansea University, Sarah Munby · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Siobhan Peters · UKRI, Sir David Grant CBE View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
23 Feb 2026 To cttee Letter from the Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation relating to the C…
1 Dec 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy Security & Net…