PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Mathematics: Graduates (5 November 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of mathematics graduates required to meet the Government’s ambition to achieve an investment in research and development of 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027.

Asked by:
Dame Caroline Dinenage (Conservative)

In order to sustain the UK’s target of 2.4% research intensity of GDP by 2027, it is estimated the R&D sector will need a minimum of 150,000 additional researchers and technicians between 2021 and 2030. The R&D People & Culture Strategy set out our plan to tackle skills gaps, anticipate future needs in both business and academia, and build the workforce the UK needs. BEIS is working with partners to better understand the skills and workforce needed for research and innovation.

The UK continues to be a world leader in mathematics, and to support mathematics R&D, UKRI has awarded £104 million of additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, over and above EPSRC’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional investment has funded institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships, and postdoctoral awards.

Answered by:
George Freeman (Conservative)
15 November 2021