Government not doing enough for the science-based economy

17 July 2013

The UK’s science-based economy needs greater support from the Government to grow, according to a survey of science-based companies by Lab Innovations.

The survey found that 62% of directors and senior decision makers from over 112 scientific UK organisations say the UK Government isn’t doing enough to support them.

The list of government actions the companies call for include: greater investment to support key research projects, helping attract overseas investment in R&D, providing tax incentives for research, reducing taxes on manufacturing, science and technology companies and to allow more genuine foreign workers and students into the UK.

The 112 companies who participated in the survey cover the broad spectrum of science business sectors from biotech businesses, pharmaceutical companies, life science and environmental organisations through to research institutions plus healthcare, food, drink, chemical and petrochemical companies with extensive R&D teams.

The research suggests these science-based organisations are playing a crucial part of the UK economy. For instance, 38% of those taking part employ over 100 people, with 17 companies employing over 500. The vast majority, are exporters (86%), with on average 35% of sales going to overseas markets. While two thirds of companies are focused on selling into the EU and over a third (36%) to North America, many are pushing into vital emerging markets such as China (31%), India (21%) and Africa (16%).

According to the research, recent developments such as the weakness of sterling, have helped 16% to export more, however those surveyed are facing some major barriers which are inhibiting their success. The biggest challenge is a lack of finance for R&D, which is cited by 35%; a lack of finance for investment is also a major barrier afflicting 27%. Over one in five (23%) say too much red tape and regulation is holding them back, a similar number (22%) say growth is being inhibited by a lack of a skilled workforce.

While the Government has introduced initiatives to free up finance and talks about the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), only 25% of the companies questioned believe the Government is genuine in its desire to rebalance the economy away from finance and services, and towards more STEM based activity. Almost a third (31%) are unsure how serious the Government is with regards to this policy, and the largest group (44%) do not believe this is a genuine objective at all.

The companies studied face plenty of market opportunity, barely 6% say a lack of overseas demand is an issue, and few find it difficult to target overseas markets, but with almost one in five (19%) worried about even financing day-to-day activities, there is clearly an argument that greater finance is required if these important players in the UK economy are to reach their potential.

Commenting on the results of this survey, Jake Morrison, Lab Innovations event manager, says: “The UK has a tremendous scientific reputation, and the companies participating in the survey are thriving and extremely optimistic. Their mindset is on growth, and both within the UK and beyond.

“However there is clearly a lot of untapped potential within these companies which they want to unlock. They are also highly dependent on R&D and future growth will only come from both research and expansion which requires investment.”