Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of public sector funding for research and development on private sector investment in research.

Public Sector funding for research and development has been found to leverage additional private investment in R&D. Each pound of public R&D investment is estimated to leverage, on average, £2 of private R&D investment in the long run and some studies estimate even higher levels of private investment.

Businesses grow faster because of public R&D grants. In the 6 years after receiving their first R&D grant funding, employment increases in the average business by 21% and turnover grows by 23%.