Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves must show \u201cclearer leadership\u201d to tackle a brain drain in the science and technology industry which is leading to Britain\u2019s economy \u201cbleeding out\u201d, peers have warned.<\/p>\n
In a damning report, the Lords Science and Technology Committee called for Government action \u2013 including easing visa costs for highly skilled professionals \u2013 to revive growth in the sector.<\/p>\n
Ministers have laid out ambitions to make the UK \u201cone of the top three places\u201d to scale a business \u2013 where revenue grows much faster that costs \u2013 but the country is \u201csliding in the opposite direction\u201d, the group warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK has seen a procession of promising science and technology companies moving overseas rather than scaling here,\u201d the committee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK\u2019s inability to retain the economic benefits of its R&D endeavour is a fatal flaw in any growth strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee called on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to act (PA) <\/p>\n
The committee said Britain still has chance to seize \u201cenormous opportunities for technological and economic growth\u201d with decisive action from Government to \u201cstaunch the bleeding\u201d.<\/p>\n
In its report on Wednesday, the cross-party group of peers reiterated its call for the \u201chigh upfront costs for\u2026 visas reserved for global talent\u201d to be addressed in order to attract scientists and entrepreneurs to the UK.<\/p>\n
Britain \u201cshould be rolling out the red carpet rather than red tape\u201d when highly skilled professionals in the industry want to move to the country, the committee said.<\/p>\n
The Government is reportedly examining plans to cut visa application fees for foreign academics and digital experts, and the committee said it is \u201ccritically important\u201d it does not get \u201cblocked by Home Office intransigence\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report said: \u201cThe UK has a unique opportunity to attract global talent, particularly from the US, yet the Home Office\u2019s historic unwillingness to review the barriers for high-potential talent is an absurd act of national self-harm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another key recommendation calls for \u201cclearer leadership from the Prime Minister and Chancellor through a new high-level National Council for Science, Technology and Growth, modelled on the National Security Council\u201d.<\/p>\n
The council should meet regularly and include the Prime Minister, Chancellor, science minister, high-ranking officials from other departments, key scientific advisers and public investment bodies, peers said.<\/p>\n
Its aim would be to \u201cprioritise science and technology for growth, break down barriers to progress, and break the UK out of its doom loop\u201d.<\/p>\n
Even during the course of the committee\u2019s inquiry, major companies including Oxford Ionics, Deliveroo and Wise have relocated or expanded, and life sciences stalwarts like AstraZeneca are also \u201ceyeing the exit\u201d, chairman Lord Mair warned.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIf the UK is to arrest its decline, leadership and co-ordinated action is needed to rescue and strengthen its science and technology sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the issues facing the UK economy are grave, with decisive and speedy action from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, our committee believes challenges can be overcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government will need to use every lever it has to support UK-based science and technology companies and entrepreneurs, and to encourage private investors to do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy unlocking institutional investment, changing the culture around innovation, and organising its efforts in procurement, public investment bodies, and regulatory reform, the UK Government can still stop the bleeding and reap enormous rewards for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Government spokesperson said: \u201cThis Government recognises the huge role that UK science and technology play in growing our economy, which is why we are backing R&D to the tune of \u00a386 billion in this spending review period alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first-of-its-kind digital and technologies sector plan is targeting investment, increasing skills and pushing forward regulatory reform in sectors like AI and quantum where the UK is strongest and through our global talent routes we are attracting and retaining the high-skilled talent to bolster the UK\u2019s status as a hub for emerging innovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have a dedicated Council for Science and Technology, which reports to by the Prime Minister, to drive forward our science and tech aspirations across Government.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves must show \u201cclearer leadership\u201d to tackle a brain drain in the science…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,103328,3023,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-246990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-lords-science-and-technology-committee","11":"tag-science-and-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}