British Academy responds to the Budget

Speaking in response to today’s Spring Budget in the House of Commons, The Chief Executive of the British Academy, Alun Evans, said:

Speaking in response to today’s Spring Budget in the House of Commons, The Chief Executive of the British Academy, Alun Evans, said: “We welcome the continued commitment shown today by the Government to investing in programmes to carry out research and innovation here in the UK. At the same time, it is important to stress that the Government should not lose sight of the importance of humanities and social sciences to the UK economy and society.

“We are pleased the Government has allocated more than £270million through the Industrial Strategy Fund to fund research, innovation and development in crucial areas of science, including the development of artificial intelligence and robotics – an area we are currently exploring as part of our public events programme.

“The pledge to provide £300million to create new fellowships, including programmes to attract global talent to conduct research, as well as the creation of 1,000 new PhD places, is also welcomed. We will seek further engagement with the Government on how the humanities and social sciences can contribute.

“It’s important to stress the service sector accounts for some 80 per cent of UK GDP - and depends on the skills inherent in humanities and social sciences research and study. In a modern economy, it is the combination of these skills and those of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) that are key.”