Business enterprise research and development report, UK — Office for National Statistics

Released in November 2019

1. Main Points

• Expenditure on research and development (R&D) performed by UK businesses continued to grow, expanding by £1.4 billion to £25.0 billion in 2018, an increase of 5.8%.
• Aerospace was the product group that had the largest increase in expenditure on R&D in 2018, at £210 million, an increase of 14%.
• The East of England had the largest growth in the value of regional expenditure, increasing by £464 million (9.9%) to £5.1 billion in 2018.
• In 2018, total UK business employment in R&D grew by 7.3% reaching a quarter of a million full-time equivalents for the first time.
• Overseas funding of R&D continues to decline, falling 20% (£813 million) since 2014 to £3.2 billion.

2. Things you need to know about this release

Business enterprise research and development (BERD) covers estimates of UK business expenditure and employment relating to research and development (R&D) performed in the UK in 2018.

The UK government’s Industrial Strategy includes a target to “raise investment on R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027”. UK R&D statistics are needed to assess how sectors of the economy are contributing towards reaching this policy goal. As the largest contributor to total UK R&D expenditure, the business sector…