The government has announced £4.5 billion in funding for British manufacturing to increase investment in eight sectors across the UK.
The funding, confirmed by the Treasury on Friday evening (17 November), and which will be distributed from 2025, is intended to boost investment in these sectors, is considered to be crucial to the UK’s economic growth, levelling up agenda, and transition to net zero.
The investment will be focused on four key areas, over £2 billion has been earmarked for the automotive industry, £975 million for aerospace, supporting the manufacturing, supply chain and development of zero emission vehicles, and investment in energy efficient and zero-carbon aircraft equipment.
Alongside this, the government has committed to £960 million for a Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support clean energy manufacturing, including solutions for hydrogen, nuclear, offshore wind and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS). This package will also be open to those manufacturing components for electricity networks.
Finally, £520 million for life sciences manufacturing to build resilience for future health emergencies and capitalise on the UK’s world-leading research and development.
According to the government, the £4.5 billion investment is targeted at sectors that are considered to be “world-leading” and could help the UK to maintain its position as a global manufacturing powerhouse.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt stated that the funding will help the UK “build on its success” as a manufacturing nation and “create more skilled, higher-paid jobs in new industries that will be built to last.” He also expressed confidence that the funding will leverage “many times that from the private sector” and encourage significant growth in the UK’s economy.
Also announced, the government plans to expand the Made Smarter Adoption program, making it available to all English regions in 2025-26. This program aims to empower small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to adopt advanced digital technologies, reducing carbon emissions and boosting productivity.
Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, commented, “Made Smarter has already transformed thousands of companies in the North East, North West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire & the Humber. Now, it can help turbocharge industrial digitalization in SMEs across the whole country.”
The government is expected to provide further details regarding its manufacturing sector strategy in the upcoming Advanced Manufacturing Plan.
The announcement aligns with the upcoming second Global Investment Summit on November 27th, which will bring together prominent banking executives, including JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon. This summit aims to showcase the UK’s tech, life sciences, and creative industries, building upon the success of its inaugural Artificial Intelligence safety summit held earlier this month.
