Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of research and development (R&D) tax relief claims being disallowed by HMRC on (a) the level of R&D being undertaken by individual companies and (b) retention of R&D companies in the UK.

The UK’s R&D tax reliefs provide generous support to encourage companies to conduct R&D activity, driving innovation and growth in the UK.

Where a claim is disallowed because it is not legitimate R&D, HMRC would not expect this to have an impact on either retention or the amount of R&D undertaken by companies.