Research
(asked on 13th March 2015) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what amount her Department and its agencies spent on research and development in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion such spending was of total departmental spending.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish annual outturn figures for R&D expenditure here:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rdit1/science--engineering-and-technology-statistics/2012/stb-set-2012.html#tab-Key-Points
The most recent publication, which includes expenditure figures to 2012 (financial year 2012/13) was published on 11 July 2014. The table below shows the latest estimates for Home Office and how they compare as a percentage to total departmental expenditure.
Year | Published estimate of net spend on R & D IN Home Office (current prices) | Percentage of total Home Office expenditure (1) |
2010/11 | £42 million | 0.31% |
2011/12 | £24 million | 0.18% |
2012/13 | £18 million | 0.14% |
(1) Taken as a percentage of the total departmental spending estimate from page 153 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14
The change in the estimate of the R & D spend in Home Office between 2010/11 and 2011/12 is largely explained by some structural changes in scientific teams
as well as a change in the method of estimation between the two years. The figures for 2011/12 also excluded the British Crime Survey responsibility for
which was transferred to the ONS the following year. In addition some significant savings on Home Office research contracts were made in both 2011/12 and 2012/13.
The government has also created new delivery mechanisms for services such as the locally accountable Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the new Police
ICT Company that provides vital support to the police and PCCs with tools to achieve value for money and operational effectiveness, and the creation of a
competitive market to provide Forensic Science Services to the police. These changes are likely to result in some R & D investment being delivered outside the Home Office.
Overall our science and research programmes are flexible and respond to our policy and operational priorities. This leads to a changing expenditure profile between financial years as research is directed against current and emerging challenges.