Earlier today, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, unveiled the UK’s pre-budget report for 2010. The pre-budget report lays out the government plans for spending in the coming fiscal year. It’s not as sweeping as the triennial comprehensive spending reviews, but it does give the government room to shuffle around a few hundreds of millions of pounds. You know, here and there.

Britain is in a bit of a bind, in case you haven’t heard. Public sector borrowing is projected to rise to 12.6% of GDP in 2009-10 (GDP is around £1.3 trillion pounds and forecast to decline by 4.6% next year, according to Darling). Basically, this means the government has got to cut back on spending—a difficult thing to do in a recession.

“The task today is to ensure the recovery and promote long-term growth,” Darling said in his pre-budget speech. And at least part of that seems to be fostering more science and technology—albeit with an entrepreneurial edge. The report sets up a 10% tax on corporate income arising from R&D, which will be ploughed back into the UK’s biotech industry. The report also backs four carbon capture projects, and offers £160 million in low-carbon investments.

But when it comes to fundamental research things seem a little less certain. The report calls for £600 million in “efficiency savings and prioritisation across universities, science and research”. Call me cynical but I’ve come to read that as code for “across the board cut”.

The Campaign for Science and Engineering in the UK has put out a statement on the PBR, which is doing the requisite hand-wringing.

Of course, there is going to be an election next year, so what the budget for 2010 and beyond really will look like is anyone’s guess.

Credit: HM Treasury