Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on increasing the research budget for science to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product.

The Government recognises that science and research is vital in driving economic growth. Our ambition is to make the UK the best place in the world to do science and research.

In 2012, Government expenditure on science and research through the Research Councils and the Higher Education funding bodies was £4.9bn, equal to 0.3% of GDP. In the same year total public spending on science was 0.6% of GDP. Total UK spending on Research & Development was 1.7% of GDP.

In the recent Spending Review, Government made a long-term commitment to investment in science and research infrastructure: increasing capital investment in real terms to £1.1bn in 2015-16 and growing this in line with inflation each year to 2020-21. We also continued to protect the science resource ring fence in cash terms for financial year 2015-16. On the basis of existing commitments, the Government's investment in science through the Research Councils and Higher Education funding bodies will be £5.9Bn[1] in 2015-16, an increase in cash terms of 20% since 2012.

[1] Cash terms including additional spending announced in AS13 and Budget 14