Nusrat Ghani: The Life Sciences Vision, published in July 2021, sets out our ten-year strategy on how we would make the UK a Life Sciences superpower. The Vision made a number of commitments to develop a globally competitive Life Sciences investment ecosystem. These included the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which will provide £60million in capital grants for investment in the manufacturing...
Nusrat Ghani: The Government wants to maximise the economic and societal benefits presented by AI technologies. To support this, we are taking action to make sure that we have the right rules around AI to support innovation whilst ensuring this technology is used safely. That is why we are committed to establishing a proportionate approach to governing AI which drives innovation and boosts public trust. We...
Nusrat Ghani: With the launch of the Critical Minerals Strategy, BEIS is working with other Government Departments to agree a Delivery Plan, which we expect to publish in the coming months. It will set out the Government’s plans to implement the Strategy and highlight achievements to date.
Nusrat Ghani: The Government wants to maximise the economic and societal benefits presented by AI technologies. To support this, we are taking action to make sure that we have the right rules around AI to support innovation whilst ensuring this technology is used safely. That is why we are committed to establishing a proportionate approach to governing AI which drives innovation and boosts public trust. We...
Nusrat Ghani: The Government was pleased to sign the Heads of Terms agreement back in June, and since then has been working at pace with Moderna to negotiate a strategic partnership to support the UK’s vaccine resilience. During this time, relevant Ministers have been regularly kept informed of progress, and will continue to receive full briefings as the contract progresses.
Nusrat Ghani: The overall net effect of automation and AI on employment is unclear, but a plausible assumption based on historical trends and economic research for the UK would see a broadly neutral effect overall. Research published by BEIS in 2021 estimated that around 7% of existing UK jobs could face a high (over 70%) probability of automation over the next 5 years, rising to 18% after 10 years and...
Nusrat Ghani: The Government welcomes innovation, and the contribution of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to economic growth. The UK is already a world leader in AI, ranking third in the world, with the UK AI sector worth over £15.6bn (DataCity 2020). The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy plays an essential role in helping articulate what employers need from the skills...
Nusrat Ghani: There is no room for any form of racism in any part of our society, including in higher education and R&D settings. People are at the heart of our R&D system, so it is important that we create a research environment that attracts, develops, and retains a diverse range of people – including at our world-leading higher education institutions. BEIS is working closely with other government...
Nusrat Ghani: The new polar research vessel was named Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough in 2019 and came into service in 2021. Annual operating costs are in the region of £20 million. The ship is operated by the British Antarctic Survey a wholly owned research centre of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). All UKRI’s budget is considered capital in the national accounts.
Nusrat Ghani: The amount allocated to the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme over the 2022-2025 Spending Review period is £349.1 million. This is part of the total business case approved investment of £1.2 billion. The Programme is funded through the BEIS R&D Capital budget. The Met Office annual report and accounts are published on metoffice.gov.uk.
Nusrat Ghani: The Marine sector and shipbuilding are an important part of my Ministerial portfolio. BEIS is supporting the delivery of the refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy led by the Ministry of Defence. The Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme will underwrite lending, in partnership with commercial lenders, for domestic operators to encourage more UK builds and is a key priority for early...
Nusrat Ghani: Shipbuilding falls within my Ministerial portfolio, and the Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme is a key priority for early delivery. I am bringing forward our specific proposals for the scheme to Government colleagues, with a view to updating Parliament and launching a scheme this calendar year.
Nusrat Ghani: The Government welcomes research into waste-to-hydrogen technologies. We have stretching ambitions for low carbon hydrogen production in the UK and our innovation and deployment support is designed to bring forward multiple production technologies.
Nusrat Ghani: I recognise the important role medical research charities play in saving lives. We announced £20 million in 2021/22 to support the vital work of medical research charities and develop a pipeline of early career researchers in their areas.
Nusrat Ghani: Government policies on space are driven by the National Space Strategy. We are investing £1.75bn in the sector to support its growth over this spending review period. The annual Size and Health of the UK Space Sector report provides evidence of this growth. By leveraging the UK Life Science ecosystem through our policies, we are addressing critical health challenges, creating highly...
Nusrat Ghani: In the Integrated Review the Government committed to review and reinforce the cross-government approach to biosecurity. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is feeding into this review, led by the Cabinet Office.
Nusrat Ghani: The Government have no plans to assess the potential economic merits of establishing a British-based medical cannabis industry. We will continue to support the Life Science sector through delivery of the Life Science Vision.
Nusrat Ghani: Shipbuilding falls within my Ministerial portfolio, and the Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme is a key priority for early delivery. I am bringing forward our specific proposals for the scheme to Government colleagues, with a view to updating Parliament and launching a scheme this calendar year. BEIS is not aware of any immediate lending cases that have been disadvantaged by the delay...
Nusrat Ghani: Last September, BEIS and MoD jointly published the UK’s first ever National Space Strategy, which sets out the UK’s ambitions for our space sector. In order to meet these ambitions, the Department is working with the UK Space Agency to provide strategic direction and support programme delivery, as detailed in the published UKSA Corporate Plan. Government is investing £1.75 billion...
Nusrat Ghani: There is no specific figure for data/compute infrastructure that is used solely for diagnostic and therapeutics research.