{"value":{"id":1913232,"askingMemberId":4131,"askingMember":null,"house":"Commons","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2026-06-08T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2026-06-10T00:00:00","uin":"7391","questionText":"To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in access to research funding.","answeringBodyId":216,"answeringBodyName":"Department for Science, Innovation and Technology","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":5039,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2026-06-16T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>The government is ensuring that everyone benefits from innovation-led economic growth, by supporting clusters of R&amp;D excellence across the UK. Historically, R&amp;D intensity has been concentrated in the Greater South East of England, but this is changing and UK Research and Innovation invested 50% of its funding outside the Greater South East in 2023/24 – a cumulative additional £1.4 billion since 2021/22. UKRI funding in Northern Ireland has been increasing year on year in line with this wider trend.</p><p> </p><p>We are building on this through the £500m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, which is empowering local leaders in 17 regions to unleash their full innovation potential. This includes £30 million of funding for the Belfast to Derry-Londonderry Corridor.</p>","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Research: Finance","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/1913232","method":"GET"}]}