UK Industrial Strategy – overview for IT contractors

Prime minister Theresa May yesterday unveiled proposals for a "modern Industrial Strategy," which includes new commitments on innovation and skills including:

• An additional £4.7billion to be invested in R&D by 2020-21.

• An exploration of how the government can best use this additional funding and the tax environment for R&D to drive up the level of private investment in science, research and innovation.

• The creation of a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to help Britain capitalise on its strengths in research and innovation such as robotics, clean energy, digital transformation technologies and biotechnology.

• Launching a challenge prize programme, whereby the prize will help inform the state’s support to the ‘everyday entrepreneurs’ operating in companies and at home – such as through supporting enabling environments and incubators.

'More competitive place'

• Continuing the already announced review of the tax environment for R&D to examine whether there is more to do to stimulate private sector investment and make the UK a more competitive place to do R&D.

• Beginning a review to maximise the incentives created by the Intellectual Property system to stimulate collaborative innovation and licensing opportunities.

• Placing Intellectual Property Office representatives in key UK cities.

• Building a local capability to commercialise intellectual property in the North of England and in the Midlands.

• Setting out a UK Measurement Strategy, establishing a framework to capitalise on the existing National Measurement System which provides UK industry with "world-leading" measurement science and technology.

• Considering the case for a new research institution as a focal point for work on battery technology, energy storage and grid technology.

'New system of tech education'

• Discussing how to create a new system of technical education, including a radically simplified set of qualifications; an easy means of finding and applying for technical education courses.

• Investing £170m to create new Institutes of Technology to deliver the higher-level technical education in all regions.

• Making sure the technical education system benefits the half of young people who do not go to university and provide new, "better" options for those already in the workforce.

• Attracting more industry specialists to work in sectors with a view to raising the quality of higher skills training.

• Consulting on how to boost STEM skills at all levels, from further encouraging the uptake at university and expanding the number of specialist maths schools across the country, to new steps to ensure universal basic numeracy.

• Continuing with an independent review of the UK’s Small Business Research Initiative to examine how the government can use strategic procurement to support businesses developing innovative new products and services.

'Impact on supply chains'

• A roll out of the ‘balanced scorecard,’ designed to ensure the impact of procurement on the growth of small business and UK supply chains, skills and apprenticeships is taken into account when considering the value for money of different bids for government contracts.

• Developing and delivering a clear strategy from fundamental research through to business innovation at government body UK Research and Innovation.

• Exploring how to support further education colleges to be centres of excellence in teaching maths and English, and explore how to give technical education learners clear information.

• Proposing measures to improve take up of mathematics and close large regional imbalances in take up of advanced mathematics.

Reflecting on the strategy, which the above measures are a part of, the PM said it would “drive growth” across the UK, “creating more high-skilled, high paid jobs and opportunities.”

Mrs May also said: “A truly modern British Industrial Strategy must make Britain a hive of new industries which will challenge the companies and industries of today.”