§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry how much financial support for research and development British industry receives from the Government; and how this compares with the figures for France, West Germany, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, the Benelux countries, Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, Japan and the United States of America.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe information for the United Kingdom and for the other countries, where it is available, on the Government financing of expenditure by industry on research and development is given in the following table:
GOVERNMENT FINANCING OF EXPENDITURE BY INDUSTRY ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN 1975 AND 1977 IN US $ MILLION* 1975 1977 United Kingdom 899.8 † France 925.3 1,029.7 Germany, Federal Republic 1,052.7 1,137.6 Italy 64.7 112.4 Denmark 11.0 17.9 Finland 7.9 7.8 Norway 30.1 55.9 Sweden 132.6 162.9 Netherlands 33.8 N.A. Switzerland 13.8 17.3 Ireland, Republic of 0.9 1.3 Japan 95.8 156.2 United States of America 8,756.9 10,557.2 Source: Organisation for European Co-operation and Development (OECD).
N.A.-Not available.
*Converted by OECD from national currencies at average exchange rates for 1975 and 1977.
† The survey for the United Kingdom was conducted for 1978 and the results will be published later this year.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry what plans he has to increase the amount of Government financial support for industry for its research and development in order to match the support given by United Kingdom competitors.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallNone at present. Support from the taxpayer for industrial research and development 139W must, like all forms of Government assistance, be found within the limits that this Government have set for public expenditure. The total sum spent on research and development by industry and Government in the United Kingdom is not out of line with that in other industrial countries when seen in relation to our gross national product.