‘These industries will be key to addressing many of the societal challenges we face in a competitive world,’ says Make CEO.
As the UK government prepares to set out its spending plans in the Spring Budget this Wednesday, it has announced that £360 million is being made available for the country’s life sciences and manufacturing sectors. In addition, financing of £520 million, previously announced during the 2023 Autumn Statement is will be made available from the middle of this year.
Focused on research and development, the £360 million funding includes £7.5 million supporting two pharmaceutical companies – Almac, Northern Ireland, which produces drugs for a number of diseases including cancer and depression; and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Wales, which produces products used to identify numerous conditions. The companies are themselves making a total investment of £84 million.
The government notes that £520 million promised in the 2023 Autumn Statement for life sciences manufacturing will be open to expressions of interest for large scale investment from this summer, while SMEs can put in expressions of interest in autumn of this year. The funding is designed to build resilience for future health emergencies and capitalise on the UK’s R&D capabilities.
There is also combined government and industry funding of £73 million for research and development in the area of electric vehicles. The funding comprises £36 million from the government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, covering projects developing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.
In the aerospace sector, government and industry funding totalling £200 million will be available for R&D projects supporting the development of energy efficient and zero-carbon aircraft technology. There is also up to £120 million being made available for the Green Industrial Growth Accelerator to further support the expansion of low-carbon manufacturing supply chains across the UK.
Welcoming the announcements, Chief Executive of Make UK Steven Phipson said: ‘These industries will be key to addressing many of the societal challenges we face in a competitive world and highlight what can be achieved with a constructive dialogue between government and business.’
The chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘We’re sticking with our plan by backing the industries of the future with millions of pounds of investment to make the UK a world leader in manufacturing.’
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