Scottish R&D spending drops, national statistics reveal

Scotland’s spending on R&D between 2011 and 2012 dropped by slightly less than total UK spending on R&D, statistics released by the Scottish government have shown.

The Scottish national statistics on gross expenditure on R&D, known as GERD, published on 26 March, show that Scotland’s spending on R&D remained at £1.92 billion in 2011 and 2012, a real-terms decrease of £34m or 1.7 per cent. Over the same period, overall UK GERD fell by 3 per cent in real terms.

However, Scottish R&D spending as a proportion of GDP was less than both UK and European Union spending in that year. Scotland’s R&D spend was 1.58 per cent of GDP, while in the UK it was 1.72 per cent and in the EU it was 1.97 per cent. The gap between Scotland and the EU has increased by 0.01 percentage points since 2006. Scotland is aiming to increase its R&D spending and uses 2006 as the baseline year.