Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform written question – answered at on 4 March 2008.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much each Regional Development Agency spent on research and development (a) in nominal prices and (b) as a proportion of total expenditure in each of the last five years.
The tables show details of expenditure by RDAs through the 'Grant for Research and Development' programme and as a proportion of grant in aid budgets.
The programme assists start-ups and SMEs to carry out research and development work on technologically innovative products and processes. 'Grant for R and D' allows businesses to undertake projects which would be untenable if grants were not available. Similarly, it helps to attract private investors, to whom the projects would otherwise not be financially viable.
Prior to April 2005, the Small Business Service was responsible for delivering the grant offers made by the RDAs. Information on spend was collated by the SBS only on a national basis. Figures prior to 2005-06 therefore relate to grant offers made by the RDAs.
In April 2005, responsibility for delivering grant for R and D transferred from the Small Business Service to the RDAs in accordance with the Government's policy on transferring responsibility for business support to the RDAs. Figures for 2005-06 and 2006-07 relate to actual spend by RDAs through the Grants for R and D programme.
2002-03 | 2003-04 | |||||
RDAs | Grant in aid budgets (£ million) | Offers (£000) | R and D as a proportion of grant in aid (percentage) | Grant in aid budgets (£ million) | Offers (£000) | R and D as a proportion of grant in aid (percentage) |
AWM | 204 | 2,392 | 1.17 | 240 | 2,743 | 1.14 |
EEDA | 88 | 9,771 | 11.10 | 80 | 12,355 | 15.44 |
EMDA | 101 | 4,933 | 4.88 | 117 | 3,830 | 3.27 |
LDA | 295 | 3,923 | 1.33 | 317 | 7,697 | 2.43 |
NWDA | 274 | 6,889 | 2.51 | 309 | 8,251 | 2.67 |
ONE | 193 | 1,518 | 0.79 | 223 | 2,284 | 1.02 |
SEEDA | 112 | 9,886 | 8.83 | 136 | 12,915 | 9.50 |
SWRDA | 103 | 2,398 | 2.33 | 99 | 2,714 | 2.74 |
YF | 211 | 4,787 | 2.27 | 244 | 6,638 | 2.72 |
2004-05 | 2005-06 | |||||
RDAs | Grant in aid budgets (£ million) | Offers (£000) | R and D as a proportion of grant in aid (percentage) | Grant in aid budgets (£ million) | Actual spend (£000) | R and D as a proportion of grant in aid (percentage) |
AWM | 217 | 1,827 | 0.84 | 272 | 1,895 | 0.70 |
EEDA | 84 | 5,786 | 6.89 | 129 | 5,921 | 4.59 |
EMDA | 119 | 1,697 | 1.43 | 156 | 2,259 | 1.45 |
LDA | 328 | 4,744 | 1.45 | 373 | 3,279 | 0.88 |
NWDA | 367 | 5,549 | 1.51 | 382 | 3,951 | 1.03 |
ONE | 227 | 2,577 | 1.14 | 240 | 1,554 | 0.65 |
SEEDA | 110 | 3,458 | 3.14 | 157 | 4,235 | 2.70 |
SWRDA | 113 | 1,323 | 1.17 | 153 | 1,038 | 0.68 |
YF | 288 | 3,103 | 1.08 | 295 | 3,165 | 1.07 |
2006-07 | |||
RDAs | Grant in aid budgets (£ million) | Actual spend (£000) | R and D as a proportion of grant in aid (percentage) |
AWM | 284 | 1,408 | 0.50 |
EEDA | 134 | 3,697 | 2.76 |
EMDA | 163 | 2,653 | 1.63 |
LDA | 391 | 2,275 | 0.58 |
NWDA | 400 | 2,216 | 0.55 |
ONE | 251 | 1,730 | 0.69 |
SEEDA | 163 | 4,135 | 2.54 |
SWRDA | 159 | 1,561 | 0.98 |
YF | 310 | 2,824 | 0.91 |
In addition to the Grant for R and D programme, RDAs also make other investments in Research and Development projects, examples of which are detailed as follows.
Collaborative R and D projects
In conjunction with science-based businesses such as the Premium Automotive Research and Development programme, a collaboration between Advantage West Midlands, Warwick University, and Jaguar Land Rover. It supports technologies that underpin component engineering and manufacturing in the luxury car sector;
Demonstrator activities
Such as pilot schemes of innovative new products;
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Which allow businesses to access academic research in order to create and improve commercial products, materials, and services such as the 11 Centres of Industrial Collaboration in Yorkshire set up by Yorkshire Forward, which have worked on more than 1,500 projects, grossed more than £38 million in income, and created or safeguarded over 1,400 jobs.
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