On the ADS blog last week we wrote about why innovation would be a key issue, both for our industries and for the UK’s global competitiveness, in this week’s Spending Review.
I gave the example of the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), a successful initiative of the Aerospace Growth Partnership, which is attracting global companies to invest here through the UK’s support for innovation.
In the Spending Review yesterday the government gave a strong vote of confidence in the UK aerospace industry, making a long-term commitment to support the ATI with an additional £900m in government grant funding from 2020/21–2025/26.
“We commit to the same level of support for our aerospace and automotive industries. Not just for the next five years but for the next decade.” – Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
This funding for new aerospace technologies – along with the long-term commitment – will help ensure the UK aerospace sector remains globally competitive and one of the most attractive locations for this high-value work. The sector provides over 110,000 high-skill, well-paid jobs – along with over 3,000 apprenticeships – right across the country, and with the global market for new aircraft estimated to be worth $5.7 trillion over the next 20 years there are exciting growth opportunities ahead.
To seize these opportunities we need, as the Chancellor said in his Commons statement, “an active and sustained industrial strategy”. We look forward to working with the government and politicians of all parties over the coming years to strengthen productivity in the supply chain, increase exports and deliver economic prosperity.
