Correspondence

Letter to the Prime Minister on investment in innovative science and technology companies

The Council for Science and Technology has written to the Prime Minister giving advice on encouraging scale up investment in innovative science and technology companies.

Documents

Letter from DSIT Secretary of State to Council for Science and Technology, June 2023 (PDF)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter to the Prime Minister on increasing the availability of scale-up investment, 7 October 2022 (PDF)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter to the Prime Minister on investment in innovative science and technology companies, 23 September 2021 (PDF)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Innovation finance definitions (PDF)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Innovation finance evidence pack (PDF)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

In a letter to the Prime Minister sent in September 2021, the Council for Science and Technology (CST) explores how the government can encourage scale up investment in innovative science and technology companies.

The recommendations in this letter focus on the cultural, behavioural, and structural changes needed to help unlock scale up investment.

We have added the Prime Minister’s response to the CST letter on investment in innovative science and technology companies.

In October 2022, CST provided further advice to the Prime Minister on how to increase availability of finance for innovative companies to grow and scale up in the UK, building on measures announced in the Growth Plan 2022.

CST highlighted the need for regular, sustained engagement with the investment community to signal areas where S&T investment would help deliver national goals.

New recommendations include targeted use of public procurement, fellowships to boost numbers of science and technology specialist investors and reviewing measures to support corporate venturing in areas of national priority.

In June 2023, the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology wrote in response to CST advice on access to finance for innovative companies and delivering national priorities through public procurement. This follows discussions with members on the Science and Technology Framework.

Published 8 November 2021
Last updated 11 August 2023 + show all updates
  1. Uploaded PDF and HTML version of new letter from DSIT SoS to CST, which was written in June 2023.

  2. Further advice to the Prime Minister published on how to increase availability of finance for innovative companies to grow and scale up in the UK. Also published definitions and evidence pack.

  3. Published Prime Minister's response to letter on investment in innovative science and technology companies.

  4. First published.