MHCLG make an annual financial contribution to the Economic and Social Research Council to part fund the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

In advance of the publication of the UK’s Position Paper on the European Union’s 10th Research and Innovation Framework Programme (FP10), the Government undertook extensive engagement with a range of stakeholders across Government including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and its constituent councils, as well as with relevant representatives of business and university sectors. This engagement was used to inform the paper.

Since then, the Department has remained in regular contact with a wide range of stakeholders on our approach to EU Research and Innovation Programmes, including through regular stakeholder meetings and public-facing engagements such as the Horizon Europe roadshows in Belfast and Cardiff. Such engagement will continue as further detail on FP10 emerges from the EU.

In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.

UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.

Ministers and officials meet regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) including its constituent councils, on a range of issues. The UKRI Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025 sets out UKRI’s ambition to protect and enhance the environment across its investments and operations, while ensuring that the research and innovation it supports stays at the cutting-edge. The UKRI Environmental Sustainability Strategy is available at: https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-environmental-sustainability-strategy/.

As part of this Strategy, UKRI established a carbon fund, which identified and funded quick wins in their research facilities and as of April 2025 will support the implementation of a pilot scheme for carbon budgets.

UKRI’s councils provide broad support for research and innovation to improve sustainability, including over £22.7 million funding over five years through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to support research that drives the transition to sustainable technologies and operations.

Ministers and officials meet regularly with industry stakeholders and public bodies to discuss cyber security and bolstering cyber resilience. The National Cyber Security Centre offers range of support and guidance showing businesses, agencies and government departments how to protect against cyber attacks. The Cyber Breaches Survey 2024 shows that 50% of businesses report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. The Government recognises the importance of strengthening the UK’s cyber resilience and protecting the digital economy to deliver growth. To address this, the Government is introducing a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that more essential digital services than ever before are protected. On 14 January the government published a consultation on proposals to further protect businesses and public services from ransomware attacks.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.

UKRI representatives, including research councils, have been engaged throughout the development of the AI Opportunities Action Plan. We are committed to working closely with the UKRI who are a critical delivery partner for key elements of the Action plan. We will continue to engage widely across the AI ecosystem as government takes the Action Plan forward.

AI-generated content is captured by the Online Safety Act where it constitutes illegal content or content harmful to children on an in-scope service. We will also criminalise the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes through the Crime and Policing Bill.

We welcome research on this important topic. DSIT co-led the Deepfake Detection Challenge with the Home Office to assess existing capabilities and identify innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of deepfakes. In addition, we have engaged with a range of stakeholders across industry, academia and civil society to understand the potential for further detection, prevention and removal of deepfake content and identify future research priorities.

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on research and innovation priorities. UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders to coordinate and fund a range of cross-sectoral research activities in this area.

The BBSRC and Food Standards Agency fund the UK Food Safety Research Network, which connects the food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards.

The most recent campaign for an Executive Chair for ESRC is the only campaign on records where no candidate was deemed suitable.

Appointment campaigns are confidential, so it is not possible to disclose details of applicants or the views of the panel.

The initial recruitment campaign returned a strong field of candidates and several were considered by Ministers. However, none were ultimately deemed suitable. Another campaign will start shortly with a view to attracting a wider range of candidates.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB). The Government is committed to the Haldane principle, whereby funding decisions are made by independent experts and as such government departments are not in a position to intervene in that decision making process on behalf of particular projects or individuals.

Research funding is awarded on a competitive basis and the decision to fund projects such as potential work on criminal gangs is taken by the ESRC following a peer review and wider commissioning process. Grant funding is very competitive, and it is not possible to fund all fundable proposals. The commissioning processes are, however, designed to ensure that all research areas are treated fairly.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB). The Government is committed to the Haldane principle, whereby funding decisions are made by independent experts and as such government departments are not in a position to intervene in that decision making process on behalf of particular projects or individuals.

Research funding is awarded on a competitive basis and the decision to fund projects such as potential work on criminal gangs is taken by the ESRC following a peer review and wider commissioning process. Grant funding is very competitive, and it is not possible to fund all fundable proposals. The commissioning processes are, however, designed to ensure that all research areas are treated fairly.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has allocated £366m to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to spend on excellent research in the social sciences between April 2016 and March 2018. All Research Councils abide by the Haldane principle; how they spend their allocated funding is decided independently by ESRC’s council. The full programme expenditure for The UK in a Changing Europe currently stands at £4.95m; the programme began in 2014 and is scheduled to continue until December 2017.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is aware of allegations made against the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) and the public responses issued by the CCCEP and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

BEIS takes its responsibilities to protect public funds very seriously. BEIS has received assurances from ESRC that appropriate oversight arrangements are in place.