Budget 2021: a healthier nation

As he took to the dispatch box to deliver his speech, the Chancellor struck a positive tone, placing skills, R&D and business investment centre stage. However, while the government’s willingness to listen to business is hugely welcome, there remains work to do to deliver the high-productivity economy they seek to develop in the coming years.   

Never has health and social care, job creation and public service provision featured so prominently in a Budget. It’s understandable given the 18 months we’ve all lived through, and for health and life sciences there’s certainly some wins to draw out. Whether it’s a broadened focus for R&S tax credit eligibility, or increased funding for digital capability across the NHS, the CBI welcome several announcements.  

Announcements on R&D and COVID-19 treatments go some way to providing reassurance

Commitments for £20bn in R&D funding by 2045 alongside a refreshed focus on COVID-19 research are steps forward.

This commitment from government will make steps to ensure patient access to the most innovative healthcare products and services. It will also start to provide enhanced financial incentives in the race to cement the UK as a global life science superpower.

The SR12 provides £5bn over the SR21 period for health-related research and development (R&D), including an increase of £605m on 2021-22 funding by 2024-25 which means the investment will rise to £2bn by the end of the SR21 period.

Business will welcome several strands of the SR12 and wider funding agreements, including: 

• Funding to address Prime Minister’s healthcare missions in cancer, obesity and mental health and systemic barriers to the access and uptake of cutting-edge innovations across the NHS 
• Further investment of £95m for the Office for Life Sciences aimed at the delivery of the government’s Life Sciences Vision 
• Funding for enhanced cross-sector research in innovative COVID-19 treatments 
• Funding for 100 new Community Diagnostics Centres in England over the next three years, making healthcare testing more accessible for the UK workforce 
• Supporting new screening programmes in Genomic research to detect rare diseases, and ‘Diverse Data’, bolstering the UK’s world leading capabilities in  genomic research 
• £5.9bn in capital investment, in support of the existing £8bn package, to tackle persistent backlogs in non-emergency procedures.

Announcements on digitisation and global investment are a positive signal 

Funding commitments through the SR21 provide reassurance on technological adoption while new investment funds signal confidence.

As we look to ensure greater data collection, analytics and technological adoption across healthcare, today’s Budget will provide reassurance for businesses and frontline providers alike.  

Specifically, business will welcome: 

• The Chancellor’s announced £2.3bn for increased diagnostic capacity will provide business with reassurance when looking at the future of life science growth, notably alongside genomics, as well as the prospect of bringing testing capacity closer to home 
• The £2.1bn announced for innovative uses for digital technology will continue to support capacity in emerging technology adoption across healthcare 
• A new £1.4bn Global Britain Investment Fund, aimed at ensuring a more even spread of opportunity across UK regions – notably within innovation. Within this, £354m of funding will benefit life sciences firms specifically, encouraging investment in diagnostics, manufacturing, medicines, and health resilience. 

Announcements on skills and talent will provide a boost for life sciences 

A series of announcements aimed at attracting, retaining and investing in talent will help sectors competing in global markets.

Ensuring the UK’s life science and health sectors remain globally competitive, is a central pillar of the Life Sciences vision. CBI members have been clear that the UK must remain open and willing to invest in those skill sets which bolster capacity to grow and export innovative products right now.  

As such, the Chancellor’s approach to reforming skills provision for domestic capability is welcomed.  specifically with amendments to the apprenticeship levy which will help attract higher level skills and the expansion of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, encouraging greater access to in-demand level 3 courses and retraining opportunities. 

Alongside this, business will welcome: 

• The establishment of Global Talent Network supporting the recruitment of highly skilled professionals for the UK’s science, life science and technology sectors 

• A new Scale-up Visa, launching in spring 2022, aimed at supporting the UK’s health and life science industry specifically in attracting overseas talent for essential STEM roles. 

Taken collectively, many of these announcements will provide reassurance for businesses operating across health and life sciences. Yet while businesses will welcome continued funding for COVID response, they will want more clarity on how the funding will be deployed across the vaccination and testing programmes to maintain confidence in the winter months.