Chancellor announces £800m for Aria, a new body that will fund ‘high-risk, high-reward’ technologies
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has delayed £2bn in annual spending on research and development (R&D), even as he committed to funding a new advanced research body that was the idea of ex-No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings.
The government will spend £20bn a year on R&D investment in the 2024-25 tax year, down from a previous commitment of £22bn, Sunak said in the autumn budget on Wednesday. The £22bn target will be hit two years later than previously planned, in 2026-27.
