Institutions in the North of England are being left out of the government’s Global Talent Fund (GTF), designed to attract top scientific brains from abroad to come and work in Britain.
This oversight is highlighted in a letter from Dame Chinyelu “Chi” Onwurah, Chair of the UK Parliament’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to the Minister of State for Science, Lord Patrick Vallance.
In the letter, Dame Onwurah expresses disappointment that the recently announced £54 million ($72 million) scheme to recruit the world’s top researchers recognizes the important role of the devolved nations – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – but appears to ignore large swathes of England.
The result is that none of the 12 universities and research institutions selected for Britain’s boffin fund are from the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber or the East Midlands. That means these regions will not be given an equal opportunity to access talent from overseas, she said.
It notes that the University of Manchester had previously been considered worthy enough to receive €143 million ($167 million) of European Research Council funding across 83 projects since 2007, far more than the University of Southampton, which was one of those selected in teh GTF.
(The University of Manchester was also home to the pioneering Manchester Baby and Manchester Mark 1 computers, arguably the genesis of the UK’s IT industry. While the original Mark 1 and Baby were taken apart, and components used in later computers, you can see a scale replica built with vintage componentry at the city’s Science and Industry Museum.)
The letter also asks for details on how the government assessed which institutions to select for funding and why these did not include any in England that are north of Birmingham. The Chair has given the Minister until September 1 to respond.
“It’s disappointing that whilst the Global Talent Fund distribution recognises the role of devolved nations, it doesn’t recognise the importance of regions within England. The Fund misses out the north of England entirely, despite being home to many world-class research institutions that would benefit massively from extra help to attract top researchers from abroad,” Dame Onwurah said in a statement.
For many in the areas missing out, this will be perceived as just another episode in a story of neglect that sees resources concentrated around London, while other areas are ignored. The capital got a significant public transport upgrade with the £18.8 billion ($25 billion) Crossrail project, for example, while the northern legs of the HS2 high-speed rail program that would have served Manchester and Leeds were cancelled.
Other countries, it seems, are more serious about attracting overseas talent than the British government. The EU outlined a €500 million ($566 million) plan to pull in scientists from abroad, while France stumped up another €100 million ($113 million) aimed at drawing US researchers unhappy with the Trump administration’s attitude to science.
A cynic might also point out that the UK previously had no problems attracting top talent from Europe, before the toxic rhetoric surrounding Brexit made many Europeans feel unwelcome in the country. ®