CaSE Response to 2022 Autumn Statement

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced a series of measures in today’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review.

Dr Daniel Rathbone, Assistant Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), said:

“Today’s Autumn Statement keeps R&D at the heart of the UK’s future. In the Chancellor’s own words, cutting R&D budgets would have been “a profound mistake” and we welcome the protection of the £20bn investment by 2024/25. In challenging economic times, stability in R&D investment is more vital than ever – today’s announcement will help R&D power the growth and opportunity that will improve lives and livelihoods of people across the UK.

“We look forward to working with the government as they put public R&D investment to the best possible use. This includes building an R&D tax credit system that can further support private investment in R&D, particularly by innovative small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). Today’s announcements on tax credits could make the system less generous for SMEs, and this could work against the Chancellor’s ambitions for the sector.

“We also welcome the focus on supporting knowledge-intensive clusters across the UK as part of levelling-up – a key plank of the recommendations in our report ‘The Power of Place’.”