There was £44.1bn of R&D expenditure by over 90,000 companies with an increase in use of the tax reliefs by SMEs.

While the figures showed a slight increase in the number of SMEs claiming tax relief and a 14% increase in total support claimed under the SME scheme, the figures may represent the high watermark for such claims, amid efforts to clamp down on fraud and error in the system and improve value for money for taxpayers.