Government announces new support for R&D, and will review the R&D Tax regime with the positive aim “….to make the UK an even more competitive place to do R&D.”, in the Autumn Statement.
Extract from full Autumn Statement
1.3 Productivity
The Autumn Statement, and the government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy, will focus on raising productivity to raise living standards for people across the UK.
A new National Productivity Investment Fund will add £23 billion in high-value investment from 2017-18 to 2021-22. The government will target this spending at areas that are critical for productivity: housing; research and development (R&D); and economic infrastructure. The NPIF will take total spending in these areas to £170 billion over the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22, reaching 1.7% of GDP in 2021-22. The new spending includes:
- £7.2 billion to support the construction of new homes, including spending by Housing Associations
- £4.7 billion to enhance the UK’s position as a world leader in science and innovation
- £2.6 billion to tackle congestion and ensure the UK’s transport networks are fit for the future
- £0.7 billion to support the market to roll out full-fibre connections and future 5G communications
The government will encourage private investment with £400 million from the British Business Bank to unlock £1 billion of new investment in innovative firms planning to scale up, and a doubling of capacity to support exporters through UK Export Finance.
In addition the government will review the tax environment for R&D to look at ways to build on the introduction of the ‘above the line’ R&D tax credit to make the UK an even more competitive place to do R&D.
The government will raise productivity across the UK. The government is publishing the Northern Powerhouse Strategy, allocating £1.8 billion funding for regions through the Local Growth Fund, continuing discussions with the West Midlands and London on future devolution deals, and continuing to pursue city deals in Scotland and Wales.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2016-documents/autumn-statement-2016