Oral Question·Treasury
“If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing research and development bonds of up to £20 billion.”
Tabled: 21 January 2026Answered: 27 January 2026
Asked by
Chris Coghlan
Liberal Democrat — Dorking and Horley
Answering Minister
the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Answer from Hansard
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Rigby)
Innovation is a key driver of long-term economic growth, higher productivity and improved living standards. That is why this Government are investing more in R&D and why we are committed to maintaining the generosity of R&D tax reliefs. We remain open to new and innovative debt instruments and we review options regularly, but clearly new instruments need to meet a range of criteria, including value for money.