Today (21 March 2022) marks the launch of the first annual economic report from the Joint Economic Data Hub (JEDHub).
What is the JEDHub?
The JEDHub was conceived following key recommendations from of Rt Hon Philip Dunne’s report in 2018 to better asses the defence sector’s contribution to the UK economy. With the intention of better understanding the current data available and trying to uncover new sources, the JEDHub is now able to present, through this annual report, a comprehensive, impartial, and objective economic picture of the UK defence sector.
The work between the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) and Government (MOD) will continue, with the support of the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC) and other bodies, including ADS, to develop data and future reports to continue to better understand economic contribution.
Survey and Officials Statistics
The 2021 JEDHub Annual Survey contains data from 26 companies present in the UK defence sector, data from the Official of National Statistics (ONS) matched to the JEDHub sample frame and also insights from ADS and from academics.
The ability to survey companies in the DGP and some of their suppliers has provided more granular information on the defence sector that previously wasn’t available and matching the information of these companies to ONS data is a unique selling point of the JEDHub Annual Economic Report.
What’s in the report?
This first annual report summarises the economic contribution of the defence sector against five inter-related themes:
- the national, regional, and local contribution of defence
- International trade
- The role of the defence supply chain
- UK defence value and productivity
- Defence sector innovation and investment
The report is visual and informative, offering insights throughout on how data points have been curated, what definitions have been agreed and the methodology used by JEDHub.
What is next?
This report is a first step in a collaborative means to identify ways in which the UK’s defence sector contributes to the economy. The JEDHub will continue to take this work forward and has already prioritised some focus areas for the next annual survey, including digitising the survey, widening the sample size, and expanding the ONS microdata and SIC code analysis.
ADS involvement
ADS has been involved in the JEDHub since its inception, providing industry representation, guidance, and advice along the way. The ADS data on defence contribution to the UK economy which can be found in Facts and Figures has also been used as a sounding board for some of the JEDHub data and snippets of the ADS Facts and Figures can be found in the JEDHub report.
Chief Executive of ADS, Kevin Craven, said:
“Through the collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, UK Defence Solutions Centre and industry, the JEDHub annual economic report published today shows the scale of our defence sector’s activity.
“Employers in this industry are investing heavily in skills and supporting tens of thousands of high value jobs that are essential to the prosperity of communities in all parts of the UK.”
The JEDHUb report is now available to access on the dedicated JEDHub webpage. ADS will be releasing Facts and Figures 2022, including data on the defence sector for 2021 in the coming months.
