Autumn Budget 2021

Government indicates that specific budget information for universities, and a response to the Augar Review, are forthcoming.

After much speculation about the impact of the spending review on higher education, the Autumn Budget 2021 does not specifically address the sector, noting instead that the government ‘will set out further details of the Higher Education settlement alongside the response to the Augar report, which will be published in the coming weeks.’

The Budget was dominated by economic recovery following the pandemic and the government’s Levelling Up agenda. Sustainability and action to address climate change also featured, although not to the extent that might have been expected in advance of COP26 commencing in Glasgow next week. There was significant investment in schools, to support the post-pandemic ‘education recovery’, and in the further education and skills sector.

The two areas of most relevance to universities are research & development funding and international student mobility. The government committed to a further three years’ funding for the Turing Scheme for overseas student placements and exchanges, the post-Brexit replacement for Erasmus. The Budget also provides for increased government spending on research & development – amounting to £20 billion across the UK by 2024/25. This includes an increase in core funding for universities and research institutions of £1.1 billion a year by 2024/25, the creation of a new Advanced Research and Invention Agency, and support for the government response to the Nurse report on the UK research landscape, as well as measures to support business investment in R&D. The Budget also makes provision to fully fund association to Horizon Europe, enabling further collaboration with European partners, or equivalent investment in government R&D programmes if the UK is unable to associate to Horizon Europe.

You can access all the Autumn Budget and Spending Review documents on the gov.uk website.