London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 02, 2026

Autumn budget 2021: Rishi Sunak unveils new spending pledges including £5bn for health research and innovation and £3bn for skills education

Autumn budget 2021: Rishi Sunak unveils new spending pledges including £5bn for health research and innovation and £3bn for skills education

Rishi Sunak says he will do "whatever it takes" to support families feeling the pinch of higher prices - but critics warned that much of the funding would only reverse cuts by previous Conservative-led governments.
The chancellor has announced a series of spending pledges ahead of the autumn budget this week, which include £5bn for health research and innovation and £3bn for education.

Rishi Sunak has promised to do "whatever it takes" to support families with the cost of living, as he pre-empts Wednesday's address in the House of Commons.

Among his promises are:

• £1.4bn to encourage foreign investment into UK businesses and attract overseas talent

• £700m to be spent mainly on the new post-Brexit borders and immigration system, as well as a new maritime patrol fleet

• £435m for victims services, crime prevention and the Crown Prosecution Service

• £560m for adult maths coaching to help increase numeracy

• a six-month extension to the COVID recovery loan scheme to June 2022

Writing in the Sun on Sunday ahead of an appearance on Sky's Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Sunak said: "I know that families here at home are feeling the pinch of higher prices… we will continue to do whatever it takes, we will continue to have your backs - just like we did during the pandemic."

However, he warned of potential pain, saying there would be "challenges" ahead to get public finances "back onto a strong footing".

Luke Sibieta, a research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said that much of the funding would only reverse cuts by previous Conservative-led governments.

"We've seen the government announce extra funding for adults to get A-level equivalent qualifications, which is funding that was already available up until about 10 years ago," he said.

"So it's just bringing back what was there already to some extent."

There are also calls from Labour for the chancellor to remove VAT from domestic energy bills from 5% to zero for six months in order to help families this winter.

The party said the cut could be funded by higher than expected VAT receipts this year.

And the Liberal Democrats want Mr Sunak to make funding to end the cladding crisis a major focus.

The Treasury said the £5bn for health-related research and development will be provided over the next three years, with investment rising to £2bn per year by 2024 - a 57% cash increase since before the pandemic.

A total of £95m of the funding will be aimed at increasing uptake of cutting-edge innovations in the NHS and addressing cancer, obesity and mental health.

A UK-wide trial of COVID-19 antiviral treatments will receive £33m, while £40m will be spent on research in social care reform, £30m on investing in research skills and training, and £20m on research in climate change and health.

Financial support will be given for genome sequencing technology that can detect over 200 conditions in newborns, compared with existing tests that can just identify nine - potentially saving 3,000 babies per year, according to the Treasury.

The £3bn "skills revolution" funding will be used for post-16 education and to help adults looking to upskill and retrain.

Some £1.6bn of the skills education funding will be used to provide extra classroom hours for up to 100,000 16 to 19-year-olds studying for T-levels - technical-based qualifications.

The Treasury will also create 24,000 traineeships and use £550m to quadruple the number of places on skills boot camps in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and nuclear.

Existing colleges in England will receive £830m with extra funding for new equipment and facilities.

Apprenticeship funding will rise by £170m to £2.7bn in 2024-25, while free Level 3 courses - equivalent to A-levels - will be expanded in subjects like maths, chemistry, and biology.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the investment, but said the pledge is "sketchy" and "appears to be limited in scope".

He said funding is also needed in schools, early years and for young people who do A-levels, BTECs and qualifications other than T-levels.

The £1.4bn business investment funding will hand out grants to encourage international companies to invest in the UK's critical industries, including life sciences and automotive.

This includes £354m to support investment in life sciences manufacturing, increasing resilience for future pandemics, and more than £800m for the production and supply chain of electric vehicles - including in the North East and Midlands.

To help overseas recruitment in the UK's science and tech sectors, a "talent network" will be set up in the Bay Area of San Francisco and Boston in the US in 2022, and also Bengaluru in India - places the Treasury described as "innovation hotspots".

By 2023, the programme will be expanded to six countries, targeting universities, research institutions and innovation hubs.

The Treasury's previous pledges include a new £500m fund to support those struggling with the cost of living over the winter.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Business Confidence Improves but Remains Deeply Negative
Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Sale Recovers Just Six Pence for Every Pound Invested
Which? Exposes Booking.com Verification Failures With Fake 10 Downing Street Listing
British Business Bank Invests Up to £46 Million in Deep-Tech Startup Fund
Scottish Government Puts Violence Against Women at Center of Legislative Program
FCA Eases UK IPO Rules to Strengthen London’s Listing Market
UK Likely to Avoid Next US Tariff Measures as Washington Targets EU
Macron Visits UK for Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition and Border Security Talks
British Chambers of Commerce Cuts UK Growth Outlook to 1% for 2026 and 2027
Keir Starmer Resigns as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, Triggering By-Election
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Unveils Devolution and Cost-of-Living Agenda
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as 30-Year Gilt Yield Reaches 5.88%
Cleveland Police Receive £2 Million to Tackle Serious Crime in Middlesbrough
Number of Young People in England Without a Close Friend Reaches Record Level
Five Arrested After Newborn Baby Dies From Stab Wounds in Sheffield
Nigel Farage Faces Questions Over Reported Second Parliamentary Standards Investigation
UK Retirement Funding Requirement Rises by £64,000 Compared With 2021
UK House Prices Rise for First Time Since April, Nationwide Says
FCA Chief Faces Allegations of Intimidating Consumer Group Over £9 Billion Car Loan Inquiry
Scottish Government Presses Ahead With Cap on Essential Food Prices
Burnham Government Moves to Overhaul Early Prison Release Scheme
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record in 2026, Met Office Says
UK Government Announces Major Reset of Diplomatic Policy Towards Israel
UK Pushes Back After Trump Reopens Falkland Islands Sovereignty Dispute
Keir Starmer Resigns as MP, Triggering Holborn and St Pancras By-Election
Andy Burnham Blames Brexit for UK’s Decade of Weak Growth in First Commons Address
England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Sewage Discharges and Water Quality
Victoria Beckham Business Reports First Operating Profit Since Launch
BT Expects £2 Billion From Copper Sales During Full-Fibre Rollout
UK Train Drivers Secure 3.6% Pay Rise and Avert Strike Action
FCA Chief Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Pressure on Consumer Group in Car Finance Case
Kemi Badenoch Names Andrew Griffith Shadow Chancellor in Conservative Reshuffle
UK House Prices Rise for First Time Since April
UK Shop-Price Inflation Accelerates to 1.5% in August
Met Office Data Point to Hottest UK Summer on Record
UK Announces Emergency Prison Release Measures and £110 Million Capacity Expansion
UK Launches Expanded Free School Meals and 1,400 Breakfast Clubs
Bank of England Governor Warns G20 of AI-Related Economic and Cyber Risks
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Calls for Greater Public Control of Water, Energy and Transport
UK Gains Full Access to £13 Trillion Trans-Pacific Trade Bloc
UK Long-Term Borrowing Costs Hit 28-Year High as Oil Shock Drives Global Bond Selloff
Royal Mail Keeps First-Class Stamps at £1.80 and Second-Class at 91p
Church of England Prepares Formal Apology Over Historical Forced Adoptions
UK Competition Regulator Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at £21
UK Aviation Authorities Roll Out Airspace Changes to Reduce Flight Delays
England Makes School Allergy Policies Mandatory Under Benedict’s Law
England and Wales Tighten Child Safeguarding Checks by Removing Supervision Exemption
Cornwall Geothermal Plant Begins Commercial Power and Lithium Operations
UK Inflation Holds Near 2.9% as Energy Costs Remain a Risk
UK Productivity Growth Averages 1.1% Over Two Years, Resolution Foundation Says
×