Dr Séamus O’Neill, Chief Executive at the Northern Health Science Alliance, said: “The Northern Health Science Alliance welcomes the Chancellor’s £15bn investment in research and development (R&D) and the new National Infrastructure Strategy in today’s Spending Review.

“It is also gratifying to see acknowledgement of the UK’s competitiveness in cutting-edge research. Health and Life Science Innovation is an area of significant existing excellence and huge potential in the North of England . It can add benefit to the whole of the UK economy but has historically been woefully under-invested in, stifling the economic and health benefits.

“We also welcome the new National Infrastructure Strategy and sincerely hope that it is a mechanism for readdressing this imbalance and drawing upon the expertise of those working in the North of England.

“The pandemic has taken its toll on the mental wellbeing of people across country, particularly in the North where it’s costing an additional £5bn a year in lost productivity. It’s encouraging to see the government taking steps to address this with the commitment of £500m to mental health services. This is desperately needed as the NHS and other employers face an unprecedented surge of need in provision of mental health care. Innovation in this space will be key to developing and evaluating new models of care delivery.”

View the full Spending Review 2020 document via the Government website here