‘Golden triangle’ will be crucial to ‘levelling up’, says Freeman

The debate about Levelling Up / Regional Expenditure on Universities needs to be widened beyond Government and Universities. It is so much more than the size of the budget to "golden triangle" institutions and the rest of the University estate. Given the Government targets of over 2% to be spent on R & D, we need a better understanding of how this pot will be allocated between industry / business and universities, which could see the bulk of the budget going to businesses or complex partnerships beween a range of institutions, both in the UK and overseas. It is also a policy decision that requires all party consultation and agreement. We are already operating in a "Cloudy Landscape" involving a myriad of deals at home and abroad and the Government does not have a clear picture of what its money is being spent on and where. The implications for UK security seem to be being ignored, or at best, not being published. Parliament needs to get a grip on this before it is too late. Who knows what involvement Russia and China already have?