Comprehensive Spending Review 2007

09 October 2007

Dr Wendy Piatt, Director of The Russell Group, said:

“The Russell Group of Universities welcomes the increase in funding for higher education and science announced in today’s Comprehensive Spending Review. This announcement sends a clear and positive signal about the UK’s commitment to world class higher education, research and development and the crucial role that our research-intensive universities play in the economy and the UK.

“The Russell Group welcomes the Government’s continued support of the UK’s internationally renowned research base and the on-going commitment to maintaining the unit of funding for teaching.

“The Government's investment has placed the United Kingdom at the forefront of pioneering new technology. Most recently this funding has allowed for breakthroughs at Russell Group Universities in discoveries of new hydrogen energy, genetic mapping of Alzheimer’s disease and new discoveries of the use of nanotechnology for cellular biology, to name a few. The ground-breaking work of joint Nobel Prize winner Professor Sir Martin Evans FRS from Cardiff University is a notable example of this success.

“We also welcome the £150 million a year dedicated to HEIF funding.  Russell Group universities are at the forefront of interactions with business across a diverse range of indicators. We believe that it is in the interests of achieving the goals of the Sainsbury Review that excellence in knowledge transfer and interaction between universities and business should be supported wherever it is found.”

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