Hannah Richardson from the BBC News education reports the UK needs to increase by as much as 50% the number of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) graduates it is creating, a report says.

The study, by the Royal Academy of Engineering, says 100,000 Stem graduates are needed a year just to maintain the status quo.

It argues the UK is already slipping down the international innovation league tables.

The UK has dropped to eighth globally in the number of US patents registered.

The report estimates 830,000 graduate-level Stem experts and 450,000 technicians will be needed by 2020.

In the UK some 23,000 engineers are graduating every year. But India is producing eight times as many, and China 20 times as many.

The report warns overall that the current pool of science, technology and engineering experts are already "stretched thin" and ageing rapidly. The median age of chartered engineers rises by 10 years for every 14 that pass.

UK firms are already having to recruit experts from abroad.

For further information go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19760351