Government announces boost to UK R&D spending

The announcement, issued by the Prime Minister’s office and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, states that an extra £2.3bn of public money will be pumped into R&D in 2021/22, raising government spending in that year to £12.5bn. The government will also work with industry to increase private spending, which could see total R&D spending increase by as much as £80bn over the next ten years.

Government investment in R&D will rise as a share of GDP year-on-year for the next five years. Currently, the country spends 1.7 per cent of GDP on R&D, with a third of that investment coming from government. The announcement would bring that proportion up to the average level of other OECD member states, provided that industry also raises its spending and that the spending increases are carried through by future parliaments (2021/22 is the last year before a new general election has to be held).