Wellcome’s £5 billion boost to British science

The Wellcome Trust today unveils its new strategy, with a commitment to spend more and spend smarter in areas where it can make the biggest difference.

A month out from the November spending review, Britain's scientists are braced for bad news. Rumours continue to swirl about another five years of flat budgets, a likely merger of research councils, and the culling of other funding bodies. Next Monday, the pressure group Science is Vital is hosting a rally at Conway Hall in London where prominent voices from across the research community will spell out the case for public investment.

So in these uncertain times, today's announcement by the Wellcome Trust is a shot in the arm for UK science. The trust, which is now the second highest-spending foundation in the world, will significantly boost the amount it invests in research, to a total of 5 billion over the next five years. The ambition of this is clear when set against 6 billion that the trust has spent over the past decade, and 11 billion since it was first set up in 1936.