UK Investing ￡80Billion in Innovation!

Investing in R&D to transform our economy. For the UK to become the most innovative country in the world we need a generational increase in public and private R&D investment. In this strategy we commit to reach 2.4 per cent of GDP investment in R&D by 2027 and to reach 3 per cent of GDP in the longer term, placing us in the top quartile of OECD countries.

If we meet this target we will transform our economy. It could increase public and private R&D investment by as much as ￡80bn over the next 10 years, with much wider benefits across the UK economy.

 We could see a dramatic change in the use of R&D by industry, with our businesses creating the next generation of technologies to revolutionise productivity in all sectors from construction and agriculture to manufacturing and the creative industries. This will raise the standard of living and establish UK leadership in global markets.

 The UK will lead the way in the R&D driving our Grand Challenges: in artificial intelligence and data-driven technology, clean growth, the ageing society and mobility. Our Grand Challenges will be driven by R&D in artificial intelligence and data-driven technology, clean growth, adapting to an ageing society and future mobility 67 ‘Our vision for a knowledge led economy is underpinned by world-leading research, world class facilities and international collaborations that push scientific frontiers and attract the brightest talents.’ Our vision for a knowledge led economy is underpinned by world-leading research, world-class facilities and international collaborations that push scientific frontiers and attract the brightest talents, from Nobel Prize winners to ambitious graduate students. ‘Innovation clusters’ will form and grow around our universities and research organisations, bringing together world-class research, business expertise and entrepreneurial drive.

These clusters can create thousands of skilled jobs in R&D, innovation and wider sectors, driven by the growth in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills led by new teachers and more doctorates. These skilled people and businesses must be located throughout the UK, growing research and innovation strengths throughout England, as well as in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Increasing investment in R&D to 2.4 per cent of GDP in a decade is ambitious and will require concerted effort by the government and business. As a first step we will invest an additional ￡2.3bn over what was previously planned in 2021/22, raising total public investment in R&D to approximately ￡12.5bn in that year alone. This investment will see public R&D spending increase as a share of GDP every year. It means that we will have raised public investment in R&D from around ￡9.5bn last year (2016/17) to around ￡12.5bn in 2021/22. This is an extra ￡7bn over five years – the biggest ever increase in public funding of R&D. We will invest strategically in technologies and ideas closer to market to drive UK competitiveness, while also continuing to fund the curiosity-driven research that is fundamental to the quality of our work and ensures our place as a worldleading knowledge economy. 

https://www.alexanderclifford.co.uk/hmrc-news