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Britain will be turned into global 'science and technology superpower' with £20billion a year of funding for groundbreaking research.
The pledge was one of a string of policies announced by Rishi Sunak to encourage companies to plough cash into their businesses and to attract the world's brightest workers to come to the UK.
The Government has set a target of 2024 to reach £20billion a year for research and development (R&D) investment, then rising to £22billion by 2026.
R&D is a broad term encompassing everything from drug companies running clinical trials to building satellites and designing artificial intelligence systems.
Britain will be turned into global 'science and technology superpower' with £20billion a year of funding for groundbreaking research. Pictured: Pioneer Tim Peake
Mr Sunak said: 'We need to do what the people of this country have always done – invent, discover, and create the ideas and technologies that will change the world.'
The R&D commitment follows the burst in innovation British firms and universities showed when the pandemic struck, such as the creation of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine.
It also bolsters efforts for the UK to develop green energy technology.
A Government source said: 'We've seen the best of British science throughout the pandemic, so it's absolutely