Projects hit by aid cuts frozen out of further £26m

Government cap prevents rollover of unspent funds from previous years, leaving projects with further cuts

Major UK-led research projects are being prevented from using more than £26 million in funding that has already been paid out to them, on top of cuts resulting from the government’s reduced international aid budget.

Global Challenges Research Fund hubs have felt some of the harshest cuts, having been offered about 70 per cent less than planned for 2021-22. The 12 hubs, launched in 2019 and worth £200m over five years, are led by researchers at UK universities and include hundreds of partner organisations overseas.