PRESS RELEASE : Treasury minister visits North East businesses [September 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 29 September 2023.

The Financial Secretary, Victoria Atkins MP, visited NETPark on 29 September to see how businesses are using full-expensing and R&D tax relief to help them grow.

• Treasury minister visits Kromek in NETPark Sedgefield to meet with science and technology companies spearheading drive for local growth
• firms benefit from government schemes including R&D tax relief and full-expensing
• stats published today reveal 11% increase in R&D tax relief claims last year

The minister met with representatives of Durham County Council and business leaders at NETPark, one of the UK’s leading science and technology parks, who support hundreds of jobs and over 40 companies and institutions, including leading innovators across health, cyber and space.

Minister Atkins stopped off at Kromek, who produce high performance radiation detection technologies. Kromek CEO Dr Arnab Basu took the Minister on a tour of the factory floor where they saw from start to finish how radiation detectors used in the global effort to tackle radiological and biological threats are manufactured.

R&D tax reliefs enable companies like Kromek and others in NETPark to claim back on their investments, helping to drive further growth and innovation.

This is in addition to full expensing, introduced at Spring Budget 2023, an effective £27 billion corporate tax cut that lets taxpayers deduct 100% of the cost of certain plant and machinery from their profits before tax.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, said:

“NETPark and the companies operating here, such as Kromek, are a fantastic example of what can be achieved through hard work, innovation and targeted support, and I leave feeling truly inspired.

“Growing the economy remains one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities, and I am determined that leading companies have our backing to thrive and help level up the UK.”

The visit coincides with the release of statistics this morning which show that SMEs are increasingly using the government’s R&D schemes to help them grow. There was an 11% increase in R&D tax relief support claimed in 2021-22, bringing the total relief provided to £7.6 billion covering £44 billion worth of R&D expenditure.