UK Government Spending Review: Our asks for the Treasury
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP Picture: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
We are calling on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP to invest in skills needed for future success in chemistry as part of the UK Government's Spending Review.
This includes supporting higher education institutions, ensuring the science curriculum remains relevant to future growth and enabling a sustainable chemicals and materials sector for better growth, jobs and public health.
The Spending Review will set out the UK Government鈥檚 spending priorities for the next three years. As part of the development process, the 浪花直播 submitted a response to the Treasury鈥檚 open portal calling for representations to stakeholders on what should be considered.
We are also urging members and supporters to write to their MPs to emphasise the importance of higher education and skills in realising chemistry's economic, social and environmental potential. Readers can find all our policy asks here.
Our broader policy asks
In our submission, we set out how the UK Government should enable and grow chemistry鈥檚 contribution to the economy, environment, and society. Through providing long-term certainty on research funding, advocating for an excellent chemistry education for that is up-to-date and relevant and investing in solutions for better chemical management for our environment.
You can read our full submission here
Outlining our key asks, our Head of Policy and Evidence Tanya Sheridan said: "浪花直播 is vital to the UK's future, driving innovation and contributing across growth sectors, including engineering biology. To harness its full potential, the Government must boost R&D investment, support international collaborations, attract top talent, and ensure our workforce has the right skills.
"This includes ensuring a long-term settlement for higher education that enables and ensures the provision of high-quality chemistry degrees in all regions. Additionally, we need to use the insights from science to develop appropriate chemicals strategy and drive the transition to a sustainable circular economy."
Meanwhile, Laura Daly, Education Programme Manager highlighted the importance of an up-to-date curriculum and fully funded pathways into a science career.
鈥淭his is an important time for chemistry education, with curriculum reviews taking place across the nations of the UK," she said.
This is a real opportunity to make meaningful change to the chemistry curriculum to ensure that it imparts knowledge, technical and transferrable skills, highlights real-world concerns, and ultimately enables the full growth potential of chemistry sectors.
Laura Daly, Education Policy Manager
"The government also needs to provide funding certainty to crucial pathways into science, such as BTECs, to maximise the choice of progression opportunities for all young people and ensure the UK workforce is equipped with skills that are fit for the purpose for the modern world.
"Tying curriculum, skills and pathways together is the education workforce. We鈥檙e looking for the government to commit fully to their manifesto pledge to address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, and ensure those teachers in the profession are supported with access to subject-specific CPD.
"To help support schools to develop crucial practical science skills needed for the future workforce, we want to see government provide sufficient funding for science technicians, alongside a review of their pay and conditions.鈥�
