A billion pound ‘boffin bailout’ is on the cards in the UK, with the government department in charge of research apparently seeking a cash injection to keep academics happy and boost the economy.

According to the BBC, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is lobbying the UK Treasury to fund a wish list of proposals drawn up by funding bodies to the tune of £1 billion. These proposals might include research funding, new laboratories, and funding for young scientists, and would mirror to some extent the US bailout’s cash injection for science.

The BBC says no one in an official position would comment while negotiations with the Treasury were ongoing, so this one should be firmly stamped ‘speculation’.

However the BBC notes that, “Privately, many research leaders are determined to ensure highly trained scientists and engineers don’t get lost during the downturn. They are telling ministers and officials at Dius that additional spending on research grants or post-doctoral fellowships could help ensure that the UK retains talent for when the economy picks up.”

News of the attempt to bring about a boffin bailout come just a week after the Guardian announced that a group of British research universities were trying to get ministers to create a “£1bn fund to finance the early stages of university spin-outs”.

Surely a bloggers bailout is only a matter of time now?

Image: Alamy