Our asks for the Treasury

Outlining our key asks, our Head of Policy and Evidence Tanya Sheridan said: “Chemistry is vital to the UK’s future, driving innovation and contributing across growth sectors, including engineering biology. To harness its full potential, the Government must boost R&D investment, support international collaborations, attract top talent, and ensure our workforce has the right skills.

“This includes ensuring a long-term settlement for higher education that enables and ensures the provision of high-quality chemistry degrees in all regions. Additionally, we need to use the insights from science to develop appropriate chemicals strategy and drive the transition to a sustainable circular economy.”

Meanwhile, Laura Daly, Education Programme Manager highlighted the importance of an up-to-date curriculum and fully funded pathways into a science career.

“This is an important time for chemistry education, with curriculum reviews taking place across the nations of the UK,” she said.

“This is a real opportunity to make meaningful changes to the chemistry curriculum to ensure that it imparts knowledge, technical abilities and transferrable skills, highlights real-world concerns, and ultimately enables the full growth potential of chemistry sectors.

“The government also needs to provide funding certainty to crucial pathways into science, such as BTECs, to maximise the choice of progression opportunities for all young people and ensure the UK workforce is equipped with skills that are fit for the purpose for the modern world.

“Tying curriculum, skills and pathways together is the education workforce. We’re looking for the government to commit fully to their manifesto pledge to address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, and ensure those teachers in the profession are supported with access to subject-specific CPD.

“To help support schools to develop crucial practical science skills needed for the future workforce, we want to see government provide sufficient funding for science technicians, alongside a review of their pay and conditions.”