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<p>The treatment of infrastructure investment by insurance undertakings for the purposes
of prudential regulation is set by the Solvency II Directive. In March 2019, the EU
adopted new Solvency II rules to help insurers to invest in equity and private debt
and to provide long-term capital financing. This means that insurers will be able
to hold less capital for such investments and will therefore find such investments
more attractive. The Government does not collect information about such investments,
but individual insurance firms often include such details in their annual reports.</p><p><em>
</em></p>The government provides competitive R&D tax reliefs to support businesses
to invest. Support for businesses through R&D tax reliefs rose to £3.7 billion
in 2015-16, up by almost a quarter from the previous year. The government is also
carrying out the Infrastructure Finance Review, to support private infrastructure
investment and ensure that infrastructure projects, including those using new technologies,
are able to access the finance they need. The review will conclude alongside the National
Infrastructure Strategy in the Autumn.<p> </p>In 2018, the UK Government provided
£20m of ‘pioneer funding’ through the Next Generation Services Industrial Strategy
Challenge Fund to explore how new technologies could transform the UK accountancy,
insurance and legal services industries<p> </p>
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