End research funds gap to level up UK, northern higher education chief urges the Government

A lack of investment in vital research and innovation to universities across the North of England is stifling economic growth and helping to widen the North-South education divide, a senior university leader warns the Government today.
Pictured, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaks to supporters and press as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping a election victory on December 13, 2019. Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesPictured, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaks to supporters and press as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping a election victory on December 13, 2019. Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Pictured, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaks to supporters and press as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping a election victory on December 13, 2019. Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Sir Chris Husbands, chair for the charity Yorkshire Universities and vice-chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said a disproportionate amount of national research and development funding goes into the so-called ‘golden triangle' of London, Oxford and Cambridge. He told The Yorkshire Post: “It’s a big gap.”

According to the UK innovation foundation the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), large parts of the UK, including the North have been missing out to a tune of £4bn a year on research and development funding.

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In a challenge to Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda, senior university leaders argue that this funding gap will drive education and innovation inequalities.

Sir Chris Husbands, chair for the charity Yorkshire Universities, said a disproportionate amount of national research funding goes into the so-called golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge.Photo credit: Simon Hulme/ JPIMediaResellSir Chris Husbands, chair for the charity Yorkshire Universities, said a disproportionate amount of national research funding goes into the so-called golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge.Photo credit: Simon Hulme/ JPIMediaResell
Sir Chris Husbands, chair for the charity Yorkshire Universities, said a disproportionate amount of national research funding goes into the so-called golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge.Photo credit: Simon Hulme/ JPIMediaResell

This threatens to bring new disruption to an already fragile northern economy and exacerbate the North-South research and development divide for future generations.

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He said there are two economies in the UK. Much of London, South East England and the East of England has a highly productive, prosperous “knowledge-based economy”, while in the North the economy lags behind our competitors in northern Europe.

He said this imbalance wastes an opportunity to use public spending to ‘level up’ areas with weaker economies and could leave a devastating impact across the region.

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Prof Husband, 61, said: "This is the most regionally imbalanced country in Europe.

"Go to Oxford, go to Cambridge, and these are successful urban economies.

"Across the North we don’t have that and denial of that is a disgrace, and we have to put that right".

He added: "Let’s just think what we could do for this economy if research funding was levelled up".

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For regions where the state has under-invested in research and development, there is a double loss, since the private sector tends to invest on average twice as much as public spending, those regions are missing out on £8b billion per year.

To level up research and development spending across the NESTA estimated £1.6 billion would need to go to the North of England, £1.4 billion to the Midlands, £420 million to Wales, £580 million to South West England and £250 million to Northern Ireland.

Prof Husbands said: "Look at parts of the North... look at Yorkshire and you discover deeply embedded poverty.

"We are making ourselves poorer, we are making our future poorer, we are denying young people opportunities”.

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He added a real concern for the future was a smaller proportion of young people in Yorkshire go on to university than in the UK as a whole.

"It’s a gap of about seven percentage points," he said.

He added across Yorkshire that means that significant numbers of our young people have a “worse deal” than they would have if they grew up in the South and South West.

Prof Husbands said: "That’s a really bad thing to do.

"We are making ourselves poorer, we are making our future poorer, we are denying young people opportunities.

He added: "I want to make sure that the next generation - we fulfill our obligations for them."

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A spokesperson from the Department of Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS), said: "We have committed £22 billion to research and development funding annually by 2024-25 and are developing a strategy to build on and level up research and development capability across the UK.

"In recognition of the challenges facing our universities as a result of Covid-19, we have brought £100m forward to the current academic year to help protect vital university research in England."

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