Mark Pawsey
Main Page: Mark Pawsey (Conservative - Rugby)Department Debates - View all Mark Pawsey's debates with the HM Treasury
(9 years ago)
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Greg Hands
Future plans for R and D tax credits are, of course, a matter for the spending review, but I disagree with what the hon. Gentleman has said in the light of what we have done in the last five years. According to a recent evaluation by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, each £1 of tax forgone on R and D tax credits stimulates between £1.53 and £2.35 of additional R and D investment. During the last Parliament, the Government increased the generosity of the R and D tax credit scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises from 175% to 270%.
Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)
Both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister recently visited the Manufacturing Technology Centre, which is in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that such collaborations between the academic world and manufacturing industry show the way forward?
Greg Hands
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, particularly when it comes to innovation. The Global Innovation Index ranked the United Kingdom second in the world in 2013. We have been ranked first for the reach, impact and well-roundedness of our research and first for our research productivity, which is 3.87 times the world average.