UK Research and Innovation spent £1.2 billion on building, maintaining and upgrading research infrastructure in 2024-25, yet the UK's principal research funding body still lacks clearly defined objectives, runs outdated IT systems and has been too slow replacing the country's supercomputers, according to two audit reports now triggering a parliamentary inquiry.

The National Audit Office's 2026 report on the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's (DSIT) investment in research infrastructure found that UKRI and DSIT now appear to have a clearer understanding of future infrastructure requirements than previously. But the spending watchdog concluded they have been too slow in replacing the UK's supercomputing capacity, and warned that UKRI is not carrying out enough maintenance to keep its estate in an acceptable condition.

The NAO's findings follow a 2025 report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, which warned that a lack of clearly defined objectives for UKRI made it difficult for DSIT to hold the agency accountable. That report also flagged UKRI's reliance on outdated IT systems and its inability to demonstrate how it monitors and manages its risk appetite in relation to its investment portfolio.

UKRI sits at the centre of the government's research ambitions. It is responsible for almost all of the UK's research and innovation facilities and equipment, and DSIT oversees it as part of an ambition for the UK to be "one of the top three places in the world to create, invest in and scale-up a fast-growing technology business by 2035". The £1.2 billion infrastructure spend in 2024-25 covers the full lifecycle: building, maintaining and upgrading the facilities on which university and institute research groups depend.

For R&D managers, the audit findings cut into operational questions. Delayed supercomputer replacement affects access scheduling and capacity planning for computation-heavy groups. Deferred maintenance on the wider estate raises the prospect of unplanned downtime for instrument-dependent workflows. UKRI's difficulties demonstrating risk management over its portfolio mean the evidence base for future infrastructure allocation decisions remains weak, despite the agency's improved view of what the estate will need.

The Public Accounts Committee has now opened an inquiry into these issues. It is inviting evidence from interested parties, with a submission deadline of 23:59 on Thursday 14 May 2026. The committee notes that its inquiry cannot assist with individual cases, and directs people with personal problems toward Parliament's guidance on whom to contact.

The inquiry will test whether DSIT and UKRI can convert their clearer understanding of future infrastructure requirements into faster procurement cycles and a maintenance regime that keeps the estate usable. Evidence submitted by the May deadline will inform the committee's examination of how the £1.2 billion annual infrastructure budget is governed, and whether accountability gaps identified in 2025 have since closed.