The Government has revealed that Innovate UK funding to businesses has reached nearly £5 billion since 2014.
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK. UKRI works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to secure UK’S position as a world leader in research and development.
Answering a parliamentary Written Question, government Minister Chris Skidmore MP stated that Innovate UK’s total core funding to businesses since 2014 was £4,927,852,733. Sectors which benefited the most from this funding include aerospace, agri-tech, energy and healthcare.
Mr Skidmore’s answer additional reveals a fairy equal split between funding allocated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to large companies.
In response to these figures, Dr Richard Wilson OBE said:
“TIGA welcomes the level of R&D funding received by SMEs through Innovate UK. As an organisation that represents many SMEs and start-ups, we are pleased to see small businesses are not overlooked when it comes to funding allocations.
“However, more can be done to support SMEs in the creative industries, including the video games sector. Access to finance is a major challenge for most of the UK’s 770 games developers. 33 per cent of respondents to the TIGA Business Opinion Survey 2019 said that the principal obstacle holding back their businesses was limited access to finance.
“As well as retaining Video Games Tax Relief, TIGA would like to see the Government introduce a Video Games Investment Fund (VGIF) to enhance studios’ access to finance. It could provide between £75,000 and £500,000 to developers nationwide, promoting the development of original IP and encourage studio growth.”
The full parliamentary Written Question and answer can be found below
Innovate UK: Grant
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
3 April 2019
Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of Innovate UK grant funding has been awarded to (a) SMEs and (b) large companies since 2004; and what the amount awarded has been by sector over that period.
Chris Skidmore: Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation) is successfully delivering significant cross-cutting programmes, such as the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and supporting the Industrial Strategy ambition to raise total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. Innovate UK’s total core funding to businesses since 2014 was £4,927,852,733. A breakdown is provided in the table below:
