Science, engineering and technology (SET) statistics provide a breakdown of Government R and D expenditure by primary purpose and Department. The following table outlines spend for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for 2003-04 on Technology Support and gives this as a percentage of the Department’s total budget. The category Technology Support includes strategic as well as applied research, and pre-competitive research. These figures exclude funding of the research base under the science budget and are derived from SET statistics. Tables 3.5 and 3.10 are available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/set-stats/govt-exp-r&d/index.html hard copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
Purpose £ million Percentage of total Department budget General Support 16.9 0.33 Government Services 6.0 0.12 Policy Support 128.8 2.52 Technology Support 29.2 0.57 Total R and D 181.0 3.55 Definitions:General Support for research All basic and applied R and D which advancesknowledge for its own sake; support for postgraduate research studentships(PhD’s). Government Services R and D relevant to any aspects of Government service provision (all defence included here). Policy Support R and D which Government funds to inform policy (excluding Government Services and Technology Support) and for monitoring developments of significance for the welfare of the population. Technology Support—applied R and D that advances technology underpinning the UK economy (but excluding defence). The category includes strategic as well as applied research, and pre-competitive research under schemes such as LINK. Source: ONS Government R and D Survey.