The UK Minister for Universities and Science says the key role the UK government is playing to stimulate investment and the development of innovation is "under-reported".
David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, said today the UK is looking to "create a market corporates feel comfortable investing in".
The role of government was important for stimulating venture capital funding, Willetts said, speaking on behalf of the UK’s Department of Business at the opening of the Global Corporate Venturing Symposium in London today.
He said: "One of the underreported stories in Britain, and elsewhere, is that venture capital is increasingly associated with the Exchequer."
Willetts added UK government policies and investment schemes such as the research & development tax credit and the smart awards, which provide small companies with money for research and innovative techology, were helping create a better investment environment. He said: "We are starting to create a market you feel comfortable investing in."
Willetts said it was often unrecognised how much the US, the world’s largest economy,,supported innovative companies, and that it was good that the UK government was providing support to corporates, venture capital firms and start-ups.
He said: "In the US you can fund all the way through getting your product to market. For all the rhetoric of the free market" there has always been a significant amount of government support in the US compared to the UK.
