English Mayors to Gain Control of R&D Funding From 2028

On 9 October 2026, in a GOV.UK announcement tied to his Innovation Nation speech in Manchester, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said local leaders in England will get dedicated research and development funding for the first time. The proposal is to move some later-stage innovation money away from Westminster so places can back ideas that fit their own strengths. (gov.uk) **What this means:** some of the decisions about which new ideas get support to grow could be taken closer to the people running local transport, skills plans, universities and business partnerships. If you are trying to make sense of the jargon, that is the real story here: who gets to decide where public innovation money goes, and why that might change who benefits from it. (gov.uk)

R&D usually means research and development, but this announcement is really about what happens after the first discovery. In both the press release and the speech, the government argues that Britain is good at coming up with ideas but less good at scaling them, commercialising them and keeping the rewards in the UK. (gov.uk) That later stage matters more than it first sounds. A breakthrough can begin in a university department, then drift elsewhere when it needs investment, manufacturing space, skilled staff or clinical testing. Ministers are saying local control could help join those pieces up, because innovation depends on workers, transport, affordable sites, finance and strong links between public institutions and business, not only on science grants. (gov.uk)

The first practical change is aimed at established mayoral strategic authorities in England. According to the GOV.UK release, they will receive dedicated devolved later-stage innovation funding, and the existing Local Innovation Partnerships Fund will be devolved to established mayors from 2028. The same announcement says this will sit alongside new Good Growth Funds, described as a single, flexible, long-term growth budget. (gov.uk) **A helpful question to keep asking is who gets included first.** For now, this specific funding shift applies to established mayoral strategic authorities in England. The government says it will work with devolved governments and regional partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to explore how similar benefits could spread more widely. (gov.uk)

There is also a large national pot in the plan. The government says UK Research and Innovation will invest £1 billion over the next four years in high-growth innovation clusters tied to the Industrial Strategy's priority sectors. In plain English, a cluster is a place where universities, firms, skilled workers and public institutions are already close enough to help an idea move from research into a real company or product. (gov.uk) This is worth slowing down for, because cluster policy can sound abstract. What ministers are really saying is that money works better when it follows places that already have the people, facilities and business networks to use it well. The hope is not just more patents, but more jobs, investment and better-paid work in the same places where the research begins. (gov.uk)

Another part of the package centres on No.10 North, which the government says will help forge new partnerships between innovation clusters across the UK. The first planned link is between the Northern Growth Corridor and the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, with life sciences, digital technology and advanced manufacturing named as early areas of focus. (gov.uk) Why pair regions up rather than treat each one on its own? The government's case is that joined-up corridors can move ideas more quickly from research to commercial products and help Britain compete at a scale that attracts international investment. In the Manchester speech, Burnham pointed to existing cross-city partnerships as proof that this model can work. (gov.uk)

If you step back, this is not only a science story. It is a devolution story. In the Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement, the government says it wants to move power, funding and accountability away from Whitehall and closer to local leaders, and this R&D plan is being presented as one example of that wider approach. (gov.uk) That matters because innovation policy is often decided in offices far away from the places expected to deliver growth. The argument from ministers is that local leaders know more about the mix of skills, transport, land, employers and universities in their own areas, so they should have a bigger say in what gets backed. Whether you agree or not, that is the principle underneath the announcement. (gov.uk)

**What it means for you:** if this plan works, it could affect far more than research labs. It could shape apprenticeships, university links, business support, transport choices and the kinds of industries a region tries to grow over the next decade. The promise is not only money, but more local control over what that money is trying to achieve. (gov.uk) But this is still the beginning of the story, not the end of it. The official release gives a clear direction of travel, yet leaves readers with sensible questions to watch: how funding will be divided, how success will be measured and how quickly places outside the first group will gain similar powers. That is where a policy speech stops being a slogan and starts shaping everyday life. (gov.uk)