Speech: Supporting the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill

Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. I am a delighted to have been called to speak in this debate and shall attempt to be brief as to avoid the virtual grimace that Madame Deputy Speaker threatened.

There is so much to like and be excited about in this Bill and in the creation of ARIA.

My RHF was spot on when he raised the COVID pandemic and the breakthrough vaccine which has been developed in the UK. This is one of those moments that shows what UK innovation can achieve - saving lives, catalysing interest and effort, and instilling pride.

But ARIA could put these amazing development in the shade, or at the very least, normalise them. This year has shown the absolute importance of scientific innovation, and ARIA could allow the UK to play to its strengths - tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our country, such as net zero. This is a statement of intent about about the future direction of the UK and our economy.

Coming back to COVID, interest in UK science and innovation has never been higher. By focusing ARIA on ambitious and cutting edge work we strengthen the sector that is driving that interest. Indeed, I'm delighted that the Bill gives a particular focus to projects which carry a high risk of failure. Those projects will be at the very cutting edge of science and technology and need support to determine whether we can gain a high reward, or indeed learn from the failure itself.

We have seen too many of the genuinely exciting technologies of the last few decades be taken to market overseas. Providing a route to finance for the most cutting edge science in the UK will be a huge benefit to us as a nation, driving the creation of new industries, jobs, skills and growth.

I am fortunate to represent Barrow & Furness where roughly 10,000 people are employed in the national endeavour of producing the nuclear deterrent.

I was struck on my last visit to the shipyard when it was mentioned, almost in passing, that there was only one thing made by man which is more complex than a nuclear submarine - the international space station.

The research, innovation and technology which underpins those incredible ships has been created over generations to produce vessels which travel in near silence under tremendous pressures, keeping their crew alive and our nation and NATO secure.

That immense achievement is the end point of generations of research and development - some from the UK, and some from further afield.

And this is what excites me about ARIA and what it could deliver. With £800 million behind it and genuine strategic and cultural autonomy, just think what could be achieved in strides to keep us secure and safe, and in enabling innovations in technology that shift the paradigm and which can be brought to market.

The ability to be nimble and agile is going to be key to ARIA's success. I believe that my RHF has taken the right approach in exempting ARIA from Public Contract Regulations relating to its research goals - allowing it to procure at speed and act more like a private sector organisation.

Balancing oversight for this new beast will be difficult but I believe that my RHF has got this balance right. In directing ARIA to consider the benefit of its activities to the UK as a whole, the agency will by its nature foster a positive environment in this country for developing the technologies of tomorrow, helping to make the UK a global scientific superpower.

Indeed, alongside UK Research and Innovation, ARIA gives the UK a 'full spectrum' approach to funding scientific research. As the Jack Sprat and his wife of UK research and innovation, ARIA and UKRI will generate greater pull for UK science and research as a whole.

Finally Mr Deputy Speaker, we must continue the tradition of pushing the boundaries of human knowledge through cutting edge research and science. Without taking risks, we will miss ground-breaking discoveries that will have far-reaching benefits for our nation, including in the development of the jobs and industries of the future, based here in the UK.

By launching the UK equivalent of DARPA we have the opportunity to seize the future right here and today. Surely Mr Deputy Speaker, there can be no more exciting prospect?