Three weeks ago, in the 2017 Autumn Budget, the Prime Minister announced that the UK government will soon be implementing a new phase of her Industrial strategy, which will include the biggest ever increase in investment in research and development over the coming years.
Prime Minister May, in her statements, said that the strategy will ensure that the UK will retain and strengthen its position as a world leader in science and innovation in the long term, with the investment putting an emphasis on the industries of today and tomorrow.
This surge in R&D investment is being introduced to improve productivity, create new, high-paying jobs across the nation and to boost the UK economy as we move toward the exit from the European Union. Working with UK business leaders and academics, the investment will aim to help British businesses continue to grow and flourish, as well as helping attract the top talents from around the world.
The main details of the UK industrial strategy are as follows:
- An initial extra investment of £2.3 billion in 2021, increasing the total amount of R&D investment planned for the year to £12.5 billion.
- Working with UK businesses and industry to increase R&D expenditure to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, potentially increasing investment by up to £80 billion.
- Propelling the UK to a position of global leadership in four main areas, as announced in the four Grand Challenges: artificial intelligence and data economy; healthy ageing; clean growth; and the future of transportation and mobility.
The new strategy, as the Prime Minister wrote in the Times, will help create thousands of high-paying jobs around the country that will act to keep the top British talent at home and attract the top talent from abroad to work and base their businesses on British shores. While the effects of the potential Brexit are yet to be fully quantified, the long term strategy laid out by PM May and the government can only be viewed a positive for the thousands of innovative UK businesses that power the British economy.
Are you a part of an innovative UK business looking for more information on how you can benefit from R&D investment and initiatives? Get in touch with us at hello@kapitalise.co.uk or via Twitter at @Kapitalise.