Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 11
16th Report - UK Research and Innovation: Investment in research infrastructure
Published 21 Oct 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Investment in research infrastructure All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The UK ranked sixth in the 2025 global innovation index and excels at research and innovation.22 However, the Department recognises that the UK is often less successful than the United States at supporting companies to scale up commercially and universities to exploit their intellectual property (IP). The Department told us that British Business Bank is acting on behalf of taxpayers as a ‘cornerstone’ investor in innovative companies to encourage pension funds to invest in growing businesses. However, it accepted that the pace of change has been slower than it would have liked.23
From: Public Accounts Committee, 16th Report - UK Research and Innovation: Investment in research infrastructure (HC 104), 21 October 2026
Government response
Government response awaited: deadline 21 December 2026.