Reaction to Chancellor’s Spring Statement
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today delivered an update on the state of the economy and published a new Tax Plan.
Alongside a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty and 0% duty on home energy saving measures for the next five years, the Chancellor also highlighted the importance of unlocking barriers to innovation to help drive the UK economy forward.
The statement said the Government are “delivering on the pledge to increase public investment in R&D and doing more through the tax system to encourage greater private sector investment in R&D”. In addition to looking at reform of R&D tax credits, reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy will also be considered.
Responding, Helen Pain, CEO of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: “We recognise that the global economy is under unprecedented pressure as we continue our post-pandemic recovery and now deal with the unavoidable economic consequences of the tragedy of the war in Ukraine.
“We agree that innovation is the key driver that will enable UK Science to power growth as our economy recovers. We will look carefully at reforms to R&D tax credits and the Apprenticeship Levy when details are announced, but also call on Government to work with us and others to support deep tech chemistry SMEs to achieve potentially fundamental breakthroughs that contribute to achieving net zero and improving our health and wellbeing."
Igniting Innovation
The Royal Society of Chemistry Igniting Innovation report, published this week, has revealed that more support is needed for deep tech chemistry start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to maximise their contribution to the UK economy and help meet the targets set out within the Government’s ambitious Innovation Strategy.