Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support the research priorities of SMEs.

The Government has committed to increasing UK investment in science, innovation and technology to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. In order to achieve this target, the Government has set out plans for public investment in R&D to reach £22 billion by 2024/25, a record increase in spending.

We are implementing the ambitious R&D Roadmap, to ensure the UK is the best place in the world for scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs to live and work, while helping to power up the UK’s economic and social recovery and level up the UK.

Businesses are the foundation of our economy and ensuring that they?can continue to develop the new products and services our society will?need is crucial.? We will provide a comprehensive environment that can build on UK strengths. This will allow SMEs and industry to grow and flourish, attract international R&D investment and talent to the UK.

For innovative SMEs, a £750 million package of support including targeted grants and loans is available, delivered by Innovate UK.

We will also continue to foster collaborations between business and R&D infrastructures , including through the network of?Catapult?Centres which were established to commercialise new and emerging technologies in areas where there are large global market opportunities. ? Since their inception, catapults have supported nearly 6,000 SMEs. Over the next five years?our investment will allow the Catapult network to continue to help thousands of businesses across the UK undertake cutting-edge R&D.