Scientists have warned that the economy will be damaged without more support for British research and development. According to a Royal Society of Chemistry report, to be presented at a House of Commons event, there is growing evidence to suggest that the UK science base is at its limit of efficiency.
The report says science spending should be 0.7 percent of GDP - the EU average - by 2020 at the latest. It urges ministers to support science in the Spending Review due on June 26.
Britain's science base has, stresses the report, created growth and jobs, but is now in danger of falling behind its international competitors, many of which are funding science at higher levels, aware of the benefits that flow from technology.
The government should commit to a long-term plan to fund science at internationally competitive levels, consolidate innovation mechanisms to convert research into growth, and ensure people have the skills to take up new jobs in the innovation economy, says the report.
One of the most worrying statistics highlighted is the disappointing UK standing in an international league table that charts innovation.
When ranked by the capacity to convert invention into economic growth, the UK's score merits a definition of 'Innovation Follower', lying well behind more successful nations including Finland, the Netherlands and Germany.
According to authors of authors of Chemistry: We Mean Business, serious and irreversible damage will result if reinvestment in science is not done. In a suite of recommendations Chemistry: We Mean Business proposes actions that would return UK science to a competitive world position.
