Drop off in R&D spend by UK firms

Investment on new products and services dropped to £25.3 billion according to the R&D scorecard published by the Department for Business (DBIS). The decline was down to lower spend by firms in banking, aerospace, telecommunications and defence sectors, the report found. Sectors that boosted their R&D outlay included automobiles and parts, software and computer services and technology hardware and equipment. Despite the drop, R&D spend by UK firms was still on a par with rivals in Germany, USA and France, DBIS said. Globally, the thousand companies most active in R&D spent a total of £344bn- a 1.9% decrease against the previous year. Universities and science minister David Willets said: "The Coalition sees technology and innovation as a key driver of growth. We have set our ambition on creating the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20 and will shortly be consulting with business on the taxation of Intellectual Property, the support that R&D Tax Credits provide for innovation and the potential for creating a Patent Box in the UK. Nearly 80% of total R&D spend occurs in the USA, Japan, Germany, France and the UK, the DBIS research found.