Rule, biotechnology, the seas!
Britain puts on BiotechDenis Zhuikov, STRF.ru
Their support is becoming more "spot-on" everywhere. So, in the UK, which, after the Labour Party came to power, took a course for intensive development of the research and innovation sector, the relevant minister, Lord Paul Drayson, openly declared state support, first of all, for those industries where the United Kingdom "can become a world leader." Scientists and politicians of the country fear that this will hit "non-core" R&D.
Even before the crisis, in 2007, the expenditure of 850 of the country's largest companies on research and development increased by six percent and amounted to 21.6 billion pounds. (For the 88 most active companies, this figure increased by 10.3 percent.) Pharma and biotech have become leaders in terms of R&D investments. (89 percent of all investments in the industry were made by two companies – GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.) In second place is the aerospace and defense industry (Aerospace and Defense), in third – computer, in fourth – automotive.
Science or taxes?"We should not refuse to invest in scientific research.
We must be ready to implement new opportunities that will definitely appear," the Minister for Science and Innovation of Great Britain argued in a recent statement.
According to him, the government will continue its policy of supporting science, including by providing tax incentives to those companies that actively invest in the creation of high-tech technologies. So, since 2000, such companies have been able to reduce the amount of taxes paid by indicating the corresponding expense item in tax returns. For some medium and small enterprises, it was even possible to return funds from the treasury. In total, more than six thousand companies took advantage of the tax benefit. In 2006, according to the British tax Service, the "cost" of such benefits amounted to 1.8 billion pounds.
Despite the government's assurances, there is concern in the British business community that the Treasury, carried away by the fight against the financial crisis, may well resort to cutting or even eliminating the tax benefit "to support science." This concern is fueled by the Conservative Party, whose representatives have already hinted that this benefit may have to be sacrificed in order to preserve economic stability.
According to the online version of the Daily Telegraph newspaper, such a move could make the UK less attractive for investment by a number of British and multinational corporations, which, in turn, will lead to an outflow of capital from the country.
Labor's plan in actionHaving come to power, the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, set a goal to reduce the production gap with France, Germany and the United States by strengthening support for the research sector.
Thanks to the increase in government spending on science and the creation of a "bridge" between innovative developments and business, the government contributed to the rapid development of research in the country and the introduction of high-tech technologies.
In 2004, the government published a ten-year plan for investments in the development of science and innovation, according to which by 2014 spending on science as a percentage of GDP should reach 2.5 percent instead of 1.9 (the average for EU countries, this figure, according to the European Commission, was 1.84 percent).
Labour's plan to stimulate scientific research has borne fruit: the report of the European Commission Science, Technology and Competitiveness key figures report 2008/2009 states that in 2006 the UK spent over 34 billion euros on R&D (with a share of 15.9 percent of the expenditure on this article in the EU), coming in third place after France (37.8 billion euro) and Germany (58.8 billion euros).
However, in the same report of the European Commission, the situation with the financing of research in all European countries, including the United Kingdom, was called stagnant. European officials are concerned that, despite the growth of investments in research and development, the EU is far from achieving its goals announced at the Lisbon Summit in 2000 - namely, to make the EU economy "the most dynamic, competitive and intelligent in the world" by 2010.
Biotechnologies and medicine – green lightThe ruling party calls on citizens to actively participate in the discussion of issues related to which branches of science to develop.
At the same time, the government has already identified priorities – these are biotechnologies and medicine. This choice is due to the need to solve two increasingly pressing problems facing British society – the problems of population aging and energy. The ruling circles are betting on biotech and medicine, also because the achievements of the country's scientists in these areas are recognized as the most significant and promising, respectively, it is expected that their stimulation will allow British science to maintain and strengthen world leadership.
The intention of the UK to take a strong position in the biotechnology market is evidenced, for example, by steps to establish cooperation with foreign countries, in particular with India. Similar plans were announced recently by the British High Commissioner to this country, Richard Stagg.
In addition to establishing international cooperation, Britain is actively investing in large-scale projects within the country. So, at the end of January, the Research Council for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences of Great Britain (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) announced the allocation of 27 million pounds for the creation of a new Center for the development of sustainable bioenergy. The center's employees will be engaged in developments based on biofuels from non-food crops, as well as from industrial and agricultural garbage. Due to the activities of the center, it is planned to expand the "line" of crops suitable for processing into biofuels, as well as increase the efficiency of its production. "The development of biofuel technologies will solve both the energy problem and the problem associated with global warming," said Graham Mackay, president of SABMiller Beer Company, who is actively involved in the project.
And others – tighten their beltsBritish experts note that in the conditions of the financial crisis, scientists can forget about the huge investments in R&D that were before 2007 – all branches of science that are not among the priorities for the government will have to find funds on their own.
It is also possible that the situation when the government, allocating money for the development of specific branches of science, left the right to scientists to control their distribution, may be revised. Control over the rational and efficient use of taxpayers' funds is becoming more important than the former informal agreements between the government and scientists.
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06.02.2009