25th May 2012
£250m new funding for life sciences
Approximately £250 million of new funding will go into life sciences across the country, a Government minister has announced.
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts told MPs during Commons Business questions on Thursday that the investment was a “commitment” to Britain’s bioscience research base.
His announcement came as Conservative George Freeman asked a question on life sciences, incorporating biomedicine, clean energy and agriculture, saying they offered “a huge potential opportunity for this country to drive a sustainable recovery here in the UK by supporting sustainable development in the developing world”.
Mr Willetts replied: “I will be visiting the Norwich Research Park and be able to announce £250 million of research funding going into life sciences across the country, so alongside the commitment to human health we’ve already made, this will be a commitment to research in animal health, plant breeding and the agricultural industries of the future.”
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has allocated £250 million as the first phase of five-year investment programmes.
This comprises 26 strategic science programmes and 14 national research capabilities, which will be delivered by eight of the UK’s bioscience research institutes and their university partners.