What measures can the construction industry be taking now to increase it's R&D expenditure sufficiently to meet the UK government's stated target?

Question

An interesting article by Pinsent Masons Legal Director Penny Simmons prompts the question of what should the industry be doing now, or doing more of, if the UK government's stated target of increasing total investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 is to be achieved.
According to the ONS, R&D expenditure grew by just 0.02% to 1.74% of UK GDP in 2019.
Boosting innovation and increasing investment in R&D is at the centre of the UK government’s post Covid-19 recovery strategy and at current projected growth rates, total investment in R&D would only reach 1.9% of GDP by 2027.
https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/lacklustre-rd-expenditure-statistics-cause-concern-says-tax-expert

Tom Spilsted · Answer

Steve it seems to me a quick route would be for the industry to actually apply for more R & D tax credits, as an industry we often think that much of what we do isn't R & D when really even if incremental it actually is. Perhaps the industry bodies could encourage and advise on this more. In my limited experience though it is well worth employing an R & D tax specialist (for example https://randduk.com/) to ensure your submission is correct from the start. The Government also need to rechip HMRC to encourage R & D credits at the moment they appear to be there to block and reduce applications. Also for larger scale it takes considerable investment - look to Laing O'Rourke as an example, could a PLC rather than a private company make a decision on that scale in construction? Modern methods of construction should also have significant opportunities for R & D applications.

What measures can the construction industry be taking now to increase it's R&D expenditure sufficiently to meet the UK government's stated target?

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