Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage UK businesses to exploit innovation and creativity through universities. [115459]

David Willetts MP; Minister of State (Universities and Science): The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills supports a range of programmes to encourage and incentivise the application and commercialisation of research generated by the UK research base. These programmes are supported both directly by BIS, and also through organisations that it funds and sponsors, such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Board.

Such programmes run by the Technology Strategy Board include the Collaborative R&D projects, the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme, and the establishment of an elite network of Catapult Centres in which the Government is investing over £200 million.

The Government is committed to accelerating the commercialisation of research, following announcements in the autumn statement, and the subsequent publication of the ‘Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth and the Strategy for UK Life Sciences’.