Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Office for National Statistics’ aggregation of pharmaceutical and chemical sector research and development expenditure in its Business, enterprise research and development, UK statistical release on the usefulness of that data for understanding the science investment landscape.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is an independent body. The recent release of the business enterprise research and development (BERD) statistics was part of an ongoing initiative to enhance economic statistics and data collection, which is still underway. This publication provided the most reliable assessment of R&D spending at the UK level, verified against available data. Given the importance of accurate disaggregated figures, the Government will continue to liaise with ONS as they compile BERD statistics in future releases, including more detailed information on particular products and sectors.