Rt Hon Chloe Smith MP
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
100 Parliament Street
London SW1A 2BQ
www.gov.uk/dsit

Council for Science and Technology
10 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0NB

Dear Dame Angela and Lord Browne,
I’m grateful on your invite for the Prime Minister and I to affix the June assembly of the Council for Science and Technology. I believed the discussions on the UK turning into a science superpower, synthetic intelligence, worldwide partnerships, and innovation inside DSIT had been worthwhile. I’ll fortunately take up the provide from the Council to assist our ongoing work on the Science and Technology Framework and in making DSIT probably the most modern division in Whitehall.

I additionally thanks for the letters dated 14 June 2021 and seven October 2022, which set out views from the Council on i) funding in modern S&T corporations; and ii) public procurement. I’m replying on behalf of the Prime Minister and am grateful for the effort and time that the Council has put into analyzing these points.

The lately printed Science and Technology Framework outlined how financing modern corporations and procurement are two of the ten ‘systems interventions’ that the UK should make progress on to ensure that the UK to develop into a science superpower. We have been clear that taking a techniques method is important to succeed in our aims to develop into a Science Superpower, as points equivalent to financing are a techniques drawback.

On financing, the Framework set out that the Government’s imaginative and prescient is that there’s ample provide of capital in any respect phases with elevated participation from home traders, and an surroundings to develop and scale giant globally aggressive science and know-how corporations that drive progress within the financial system and high-skilled employment alternatives for residents. As set out within the Framework, HM Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, are main work throughout Government to develop and implement an motion plan to enhance entry to capital for modern UK corporations.

We are already taking steps below every strand to enhance on the present surroundings. With respect to financing, the latest price range in March highlighted the Government’s intention to assist modern corporations. This included bulletins on Long Term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) and the extension to British Patient Capital for an extra ten years.

• The LIFTS initiative will stimulate the creation of latest automobiles for funding into science and tech corporations, tailor-made to the wants of UK outlined contribution pension schemes. A request for suggestions closed on 28 April and the federal government acquired a lot of high-quality responses, underlining the urge for food for funding into the UK’s high-growth corporations.

• Our extension of the extremely profitable British Patient Capital programme will present no less than £3 billion fairness funding into the UK’s key high-growth sectors together with life sciences, inexperienced industries and deep tech. As properly because the extension, authorities is rising BPC’s give attention to R&D intensive corporations.

I recognise that bulletins made to this point usually are not the complete reply to the problem, and the Government is working collaboratively below the Science and Technology Framework to contemplate how greatest to assist corporations that want financing to scale and succeed within the UK financial system, together with Government engagement and signalling alongside financing. We will think about your 5 suggestions in flip as a part of this course of, and I stay up for updating you on progress at an opportune second.
On procurement, the Framework outlined that the Government’s imaginative and prescient is that Government departments create a requirement for innovation that may catalyse their shopping for energy into financial progress. Departments clearly articulate their know-how wants by means of long-term methods to provide companies confidence to speculate and form markets, with a proportion of departmental spend devoted to procurement supporting innovation. As set out within the Framework, the Cabinet Office, and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, are main work throughout Whitehall to develop an motion plan to allow public sector organisations to embrace innovation extra, together with new laws to permit public procurement to be undertaken in additional versatile and modern methods.

The Government is concentrated on the profitable passage of the Procurement Bill by means of Parliament, which goals to hurry up and simplify public procurement processes, place worth for cash at their coronary heart and create larger alternatives for small companies and social enterprises to innovate public service supply. The implementation of the Procurement Bill, supported by focused studying and growth, will empower contracting authorities to obtain extra modern options to fulfill their wants. To present only one instance, the invoice consists of new procedures for awarding public contracts which permit for extra negotiation with suppliers to ship modern options in partnership with the general public sector.
I recognise that the Procurement Bill isn’t the complete reply to the problem, nevertheless, and the Government is working collaboratively below the Science and Technology Framework to contemplate what wider modifications are wanted with a purpose to make the very best use of procurement as a lever for innovation within the UK. We will think about your seven suggestions in flip as a part of this course of, and I stay up for updating you on progress at an opportune second.

Thank you on your ongoing assist and engagement and I stay up for a stimulating dialogue on the subsequent assembly of the Council later this month.

Yours sincerely,

Chloe Smith

Rt Hon Chloe Smith MP

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology