Yesterday, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the first Budget since the General Election earlier this year, outlining the UK Government’s spending plans. Read on for ChemTalent’s summary of some of the key takeaways related to students, early careerists and the chemical industry:
Net Zero
Investment in technologies to support the transition to Net Zero, such as green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage projects, has been pledged. The budget also announced funding for zero emission vehicles and their supply chains, in line with the target of ending the sale of pure petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Continued support for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, designed to help businesses with high energy use transition to a low carbon future, has been confirmed.
Innovation
The government has committed to protecting investment in research and development, allocating over £20 billion for research funding in areas such as biotechnology, engineering and life sciences. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which covers the Horizon Europe programme, has received an 8% budget increase.
Education
The budget recognises skills challenges are holding back growth across the country. Improvements to education have been a focus of the budget, with an additional £2.3 billion announced for the core schools budget, supporting the pledge to recruit 6,500 more teachers. The government will invest £40 million to help deliver new foundation and shorter apprenticeships, as part of initial steps towards reforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy.
