Mather said that consolidating three previous grant schemes – Scottish Enterprise’s Small Company Innovation Support, R&DPlus and the Scottish Government’s SCORE scheme - into one general research and development grant will boost levels of commercial research and development and improve Scotland’s competitiveness.  

The announcement follows the publication of statistics today that show that Scottish business research and development expenditure decreased by four per cent between 2005 and 2006. The Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) Scotland figures show that expenditure in Scotland in 2006 was £579m – which is a decrease of four per cent in real terms from 2005 at a time when UK BERD expenditure increased by five per cent. 

Commenting on the figures Mather said: "Today's Business Enterprise Research and Development 2006 (BERD) figures show that Scotland's public and private sectors must work together to increase the level of research and development activity. 

"The Government Economic Strategy recognises that responsive, accessible business support services will be crucial to generating increased, sustainable economic growth. 

"That's why we have brought together three previous schemes to create a consolidated R&D grant that will make it easier for innovative firms across Scotland to secure grant support and grow their businesses." 

The general grant will be available from Scottish Enterprise from April. 

You can view the Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) figures here.