Chancellor lends a helping hand to UK manufacturers

Commenting on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last week, Stephen Cooper, head of manufacturing at KPMG in the UK, said:

“At a time of great uncertainty and change for industry, the Chancellor has announced a number of positive actions to help manufacturers in the UK. Hot on the heels of the Government’s announcement earlier this week of an extra £2 billion per year on R&D, Mr Hammond has reinforced this with a new £23 billion National Productivity Investment fund. The money will be spent on housing, R&D and economic infrastructure over the next five years, which is a welcome investment that will help underpin a future industrial strategy.

“Today’s announcements also recognise the importance of digital infrastructure, which is fundamental to modern manufacturing. The promise of new fibre networks through the new £400 million Digital Infrastructure Investment fund should help to support the industry’s future needs. As a key piece of the infrastructure puzzle, the delivery of this rollout needs to be clear, providing both reliability and resilience.

“Much needed investment in our transport and roads infrastructure is encouraging as is the doubling of support for our exporters, and continuing to prioritise these areas will help bring more confidence for life post-Brexit.”