The Engineering and Machinery Alliance, EAMA has sent a submission to the chancellor of the exchequer ahead of the autumn statement on November 22nd.
One ask is for £500 million over eight years for a national, coherent programme to support SMEs adopt best technologies and processes across the manufacturing sector. The UK has an opportunity to expand its manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from 9% to something closer to that of two other “services superpowers”, Switzerland (19%) and Singapore (21%).
Investing in SMEs in this way would help to reverse the historic decline in manufacturing in the UK and would complement support for large companies, for example the two £500 million grants agreed with Tata for its steel and car battery businesses, EAMA notes.
The submission can be seen here: Autumn-Statement-Submission-2023.pdf (eama.info)
*EAMA has published a short video highlighting the value of the UK’s manufacturing sector, the huge opportunity available, and the role of trade associations: https://youtu.be/j_rhmYEO7fs
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