The latest UK spending review includes increased funding for science, providing an additional £500 million ($769 million) per year by 2020 for the £4.7 billion science budget in order to account for inflation. In addition, the science infrastructure budget will increase 10% to £1.2 billion per year by 2021 and includes £150 million for a Dementia Institute. However, as one observer noted, the total science budget has shrunk since 2010 due to prior inflation. New projects include £1.5 billion over five years for the Global Challenges research fund to address issues in developing countries; £400 million over eight years for new Public Health England facilities in Halow, Essex; £250 million for nuclear R&D; £130 million for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ science facilities; and £75 million for the Cavendish Laboratories at the University of Cambridge. The government also plans to establish Research UK to manage the country’s research councils. In addition, Innovate UK, which funded business R&D, will be merged with Research UK and some of its grant monies will be transferred to loans.

Source: Nature