Does this give much needed certainty?

Brandished as part of the government’s plan to grow the economy, boost health resilience and support jobs across the UK, the funding will go to companies and projects making cutting edge technology in sectors key to economic growth and forms part of wider government support which aims to ensure the UK is the best place to start, grow and invest in manufacturing.

This latest announcement follows publication of the government’s 47-page advanced manufacturing plan last November, setting out its long-term proposals for increasing manufacturing output. It is backed by £4.5bn in funding over the next five years, which was announced in the autumn statement.

Of the funding, £7.5m has been earmarked to support two pharmaceutical companies: Northern Ireland-based Almac, which produces drugs to treat diseases such as cancer, heart disease and depression; and Ortho Clinical diagnostics in Pencoed, Wales, which is expanding its facilities producing testing products used to identify a variety of diseases and conditions.

The Chancellor also indicated that firms will soon be able to apply for a share of the £520 million funding for life sciences manufacturing announced at Autumn Statement, with competitions for large scale investments opening for expressions of interest this summer and medium and smaller sized companies in the autumn.

On top of this, the government has announced almost £73m in combined government and industry investment for cutting-edge automotive R&D projects to support the development of electric vehicle technology, delivering, says the government, highly skilled jobs and cementing the UK’s position as a global hub for EV manufacturing – good news even given the fact that the ban on the sale of new IC engined cars has recently been delayed by five years.

It is hoped the funding will unlock investment from the private sector and give certainty to investors, something which has – anecdotally and seemingly otherwise – been lacking in recent years.

And while any investment in UK manufacturing is to be welcomed, let’s not pretend that the latest announcement represents some kind of panacea for the sector and more action is needed.

Indeed, as Chris White, director of the Industrial Policy Research Centre at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, has pointed out: “R&D underpins the innovation and productivity needed to boost economic growth and reduce our reliance on overseas manufacturing. The UK’s investment in this area has lagged behind other countries for too long. By setting out more substantive details, The Chancellor has sent an important message of confidence which will help secure more private funding for cutting-edge projects.
 
“However, it’s no secret that the UK manufacturing sector is suffering an alarming skills shortage now. Whilst the two-year £50 million apprenticeship growth sector pilot is crucial in shaping our future workforce to deliver the Government’s ambitions plans, industry is also keen to see more accessible upskilling programmes to fill the current skills gap.”

Charlotte Stonestreet

Editor