ONS Research and Development Figures Regain Accredited Official Statistic Status

UK businesses spent £55.6 billion on research and development in 2024, the figures show — up £2.4 billion, or 4.5 per cent, compared with 2023. The Office for National Statistics announced that its business enterprise R&D (BERD) statistics, including subregional and sectoral breakdowns for 2022 onwards, have been redesignated as accredited official statistics following a review by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). The GERD series — covering gross domestic expenditure on R&D across business, higher education, government, UK Research and Innovation, and private non-profit organisations — has also had its accredited status restored.

The redesignation matters because accredited official statistics are independently reviewed by OSR and must comply with its Code of Practice for Statistics. The previous suspension had been triggered after undercoverage was identified in parts of the R&D series — so the restored label signals that those quality issues have been addressed to OSR’s satisfaction.

The South East recorded £9.2 billion in business R&D performed in 2024, making it the third-largest region in England by that measure, behind London at £13.3 billion and the East of England at £10.3 billion. Kent businesses operating in sectors that dominate the national figures — scientific research and development accounted for £13.0 billion, or 23.5 per cent of the UK total, while computer programming and consultancy contributed £7.5 billion, or 13.4 per cent — sit within that South East economy. No Kent-specific R&D spending figure is available in the published data.

Local councils and economic development bodies in Kent may draw on these statistics when assessing business investment and skills needs. But any county-level conclusions would need to be treated with caution until more granular data is published. ONS notes that below-UK-level estimates carry the lower designation of official statistics rather than the full accredited status.