"Figure 2: HMRC R&D statistics show R&D expenditure used to claim R&D tax credits under the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) scheme has been increasing annually since 2015 to 2016","" "HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates of research and development (R&D) expenditure, UK, 2015 and 2016 to 2020 and 2021","" "","" "Notes","" "Unit","£ billion" "","" "","SME scheme","RDEC scheme" "2015 to 16","6.5","26.3" "2016 to 17","8.2","25.5" "2017 to 18","10.2","26.6" "2018 to 19","13.0","28.8" "2019 to 20","15.4","27.5" "2020 to 21","15.7","22.5"