Advanced Research and Invention Agency Act 2022

Key Points

• Creates ARIA as a government-backed funder for high‑risk, transformative research with flexible funding.
• Treats ARIA as a public authority for key public-law rules (data protection, information rights, certain tax rules) to ensure accountability and oversight.
• Labour proposed funding conditions that could require equity-like convertibility and 10‑year consent for certain funded businesses, which was agreed in the bill.
• debated whether ARIA should have powers to amend primary legislation via regulations; amendments narrowed those powers and the debates highlighted tensions between flexibility and parliamentary oversight.
• Proposals on devolved administration involvement and additional transparency (FOI, NAO assessments, environmental targets) were withdrawn or not moved, limiting extra governance requirements on ARIA.

Progress

The bill progressed through all parliamentary stages and received Royal Assent on 24 February 2022, making ARIA a statutory body with the powers and constraints set out in the Act.

Voting

In the Commons, amendments to the bill at Report Stage were defeated, indicating broad cross‑party backing for the core ARIA framework. Broad party lines showed Labour and other opposition groups supporting ARIA, while the Conservative and Reform UK blocs opposed the amendments.