§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the level of investment in research and development by British industry.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 21 October 1991]: British industry's investment in research and development increased by over 50 per cent. in the six years to 1989 in real terms. However, United Kingdom firms are still not doing enough to match and surpass efforts of their best overseas competitors. For this, we need a major change in attitudes to innovation.
The main effort must come from the worlds of business and education and the Government are acting as a catalyst for the many changes that are needed. An example is the recent sponsoring by DTI of the publication of the "R and D Scoreboard". This is one initiative designed to focus attention on the importance of innovation, and showed that large United Kingdom companies increased their R and D expenditure by 12 per cent. last year. The pharmaceuticals sector was exceptionally strong, with United Kingdom companies leading the world. However, the largest increases occurred in other sectors such as aerospace, containers and electricals.