GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

That this House is concerned that small UK science and technology businesses are at present significantly disadvantaged compared with their US competitors because of the absence of an effective UK programme to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme in the US and that the commercial exploitation of the UK science base for the benefit of the UK economy is being jeopardised as a result; further notes that the introduction of such a scheme would be to the benefit both of the UK Government departments commissioning research and development projects and of the companies undertaking them; and urges the Government to introduce legislation similar in effect to the SBIR Program in the US, under which US Federal Government agencies are required by law to spend a minimum proportion of their research and development budgets with small businesses.