Science superpower strategy welcomed but concerns over UK association to Horizon persist

Every part of government will be brought together ‘to cement the UK’s place as a global science and technology superpower’ by 2030, according to the strategy from the newly minted Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The Science and Technology Framework contains 10 key points outlining how this will be achieved, and over £370 million in new funding for the UK’s ‘most exciting growing’ technologies. The government also announced a further extension until 30 June 2023 of the financial guarantee provided to the UK’s Horizon Europe applicants. However, many in the science community point out that continued hesitation over association with Horizon has put the government’s ambitions at risk.

The framework is the first major piece of work from the DSIT and will be implemented immediately. It will focus on strategic technologies critical to the UK, attracting global talent and boosting private and public investment in R&D, among other things.

The plan brings together responsibility for five ‘transformational’ technologies into one single department for the first time. There is up to £250 million of new funding for three of these – quantum science, artificial intelligence and engineering biology – with potentially more to come for semiconductors and future telecoms.