§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the implications of his Department's statistics about the lower proportion of Government funded research and development devoted to industrial research in Great Britain by comparison with France, West Germany, Japan and Italy; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. ButcherThe main source of funds for industrial research and development in the United Kingdom is the profits and other financial resources of companies, and recently published statistics show that in 1981 industry spent £3.8 billion of its own money on R&D. International comparisons of expenditure by Governments on industrial R&D can be misleading because of the different responsibilities of the public and private sectors in the various countries, but there is no correlation between the proportion of industrial R&—D funded by Government and economic success.
The aim of this Government is to encourage companies to make their own investments in R&D and new technology by the catalytic use of Government money, and in 1983–4 my Department: spent £323 million on the support for industrial innovation in this way. Expenditure in 1984–5 is expected to be £378 million.