Computing and life sciences are among the high-growth sectors that will benefit from financial and regulatory measures aimed at making the UK “the best place in Europe” for tech companies to invest and grow, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his Budget on Wednesday.
They range from ￡900mn to build an ultra-powerful “exascale” computer for artificial intelligence research to a streamlined process for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to approve new medicines. The chancellor also confirmed a commitment to spend ￡2.5bn over 10 years on quantum computing, as the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The government has accepted all nine recommendations in a review of digital technology regulation by Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser.