Science and technology to lead the way in new UK industrial plan
UK prime minister Boris Johnson's government is planning out a new industrial strategy that is due to place science and technology at the forefront of Britain's economic development.
With the impact of the coronavirus on British industry over the past year, business secretary Alok Sharma is due to scrap former PM Theresa May's white paper on industrial strategy and is planning on presenting a fresh document sometime in the Autumn.
It is due to reflect the priorities of Dominic Cummings, Johnson's chief advisor, by having a heavy focus on science and technology.
Cummings is interested in creating a government-funded agency in the vein of the American Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, which was founded in the 1950s and heading numerous innovative projects, including an early form of the Internet.
The document will also contain a roadmap of how the government will best allocate resources to fund the correct institutions.
According to data gathered by the OECD, the UK ranks high in economic disparity between regions, with London being far more stable in terms of per capita GDP and productivity.
The new roadmap plans to focus on the industrial development in areas outside of London, such as Birmingham or Manchester, as well as the science corridor between Oxford and Cambridge.
Many of the UK's more cutting-edge sectors such as aerospace have been hard hit by Covid, so it will be up to ministers to decide which areas to focus on, to avoid wasting funding.
Downing Street also has an initiative to push greener technologies in British industry, following a worldwide trend towards 'green politics' - many countries putting green and renewable sources at the heart of post-Covid economic recovery.
A business spokesperson for the department said the industrial strategy was being updated to remain "relevant" to reflect the new government priorities.
They said: “It is our industrial strategy that puts the UK at the forefront of global technological opportunities, enhancing productivity and boosting productivity in every part of the country."
An urgent detail that comes as a part of the new strategy is overhauling how the country responds to pandemics and other national crises, including a plan to manufacture and supply PPE to frontline and health workers.
Stephen Phipson, head of Make UK, the manufacturing sector trade group, said it was “essential” for the government to set out a post Covid-19 “long-term vision and strategy” that put industry at the heart of the economy.
He said: “As we rebuild our economy there are going to be massive opportunities in areas such as clean energy, infrastructure and transport, we have a once in many a generation opportunity to build a new industrial revolution.”
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