To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support universities whose research has been judged as excellent and of national importance. (261977)

The Department supports excellent research in universities through the dual support system of institutional funding through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and project-based funding through the Research Councils. The Department's grant letter to HEFCE asked them

“to continue to recognise and reward the highest levels of research excellence wherever it is found”.

The recent research assessment exercise (RAE), published in December last year demonstrates the world-class performance of university research in the UK: 54 per cent. of work was found to be of world-leading quality or internationally excellent. The RAE results drive institutional funding for research and HEFCE announced funding allocations on 5 March.