In response to today’s budget, Tanya Sheridan, SRC head of policy and evidence, said: “Chemical sciences play a vital role in addressing the global challenges we face, developing new environmentally friendly technologies and enabling advances in health. Government investment and support in science, from discovery to application, is essential to ensure a sustainable economy. growth and fight climate change.

“We firmly believe that continued support for research, development and innovation is essential for growth, as it boosts productivity, creates jobs, stimulates economic growth and raises living standards, thus benefiting to individuals and communities across the UK, although we recognize that difficult decisions need to be made to get done with public finances.

“We therefore welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that the Government will protect investment in research and development, including for core research funding, innovation accelerators and Horizon Europe. However, we want to understand more detail the implications for research, development and innovation in the chemical sciences The commitment to ten-year budgets for key research and development activities is encouraging, as this can ensure long-term stability, particularly in fields like chemistry, where the journey from discovery to commercialization can be long.

“Reaching net zero is vital and the commitment to Great British Energy supports this. Providing clean energy infrastructure will require a strong circular economy approach, to ensure sufficient materials are available.

“The government’s decision to invest in future growth sectors, such as life sciences, green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, creates long-term opportunities for the workforce in chemistry. This investment highlights the importance of excellent chemistry teaching in schools and more. education, which is why increased funding for continuing education is also welcome.

“However, the Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper rightly highlights how the UK’s higher education sector will also play a vital role in delivering the Government’s ambitions to transform the UK’s skills base. United and achieve economic growth. We would have liked to know more about how the government will support this sector to support and develop the workforce in growing sectors.

Annette Farrell, SRC education policy program manager, added: “Schools are crying out for investment, so the announcement of £2.3 billion of extra funding for core school budgets next year is welcome.

“Data from our latest science education survey shows that 72% of teachers believe that insufficient school funding has a detrimental effect on students and what they can achieve. Teachers also told us that lack of equipment and cost of resources are barriers. it’s up to them to do practical work with their students, so we hope that today’s news will help solve this problem.

“The Chancellor said this increase in school budgets will help recruit an additional 6,500 teachers. For shortage subjects like chemistry, investment is needed to attract and retain potential teacher training candidates, as well as to support existing teachers in the profession.

“We are still awaiting further details on how the Government plans to deliver on this manifesto commitment and how it will help solve the current recruitment and retention crisis.

“We believe all children should have access to high quality science education, so we are also encouraged to learn that a further £1 billion will be spent on SEND provision, which our research shows is also a concern for teachers and technicians in our country latest survey.