This week is the week of the long awaited 2025 Comprehensive Spending Review, setting out departmental spending over the next three years, and investment spending over the next four years.
This was originally slated to coincide with the industrial strategy, a policy of key importance to manufacturers, and something we’ve campaigned for over many years.
The industrial strategy has now been pushed back to the last week of June as pressure mounts on the government to come up with a plan to cut punishing industrial energy costs, something we covered in a previous edition of Manufacturing Monday’s.
Industrial strategy
The Government cannot achieve economic growth without industrial growth. The Industrial Strategy therefore needs to be a true enabler of growth for manufacturing and include ambitious policy interventions in key areas.
Now is the time to reach further than just a strategic framework. A strategy without a plan would fall disastrously short. Targeted and substantial policy interventions are needed in key areas to turbocharge business. The manufacturing sector stands ready to play a full and meaningful part of this journey.
The industrial strategy should address:
Skills: With 52,000 manufacturing vacancies costing the UK £6 billion annually, improving skills investment is vital. To help manufacturers invest in the skills required, Government should boost apprenticeship funding, expand the Growth and Skills Levy to include Bootcamps and Higher Technical Qualifications, and introduce more technical pathways pre-16 to secure future talent.
Energy: UK industrial energy prices are the highest among major Western economies - up to four times those in the US. To unleash UK manufacturing’s full potential in driving growth, and commit to electrifying industry, Government must urgently reform the complex and unfair policy levies that make low-carbon energy more expensive than fossil fuels.
Access to finance: Businesses need access to capital to invest and grow, and unlocking finance could drive £9.2 billion more in manufacturing investment. The main barrier is lack of awareness and understanding of existing support. Beyond better signposting, digital tools should be used to micro-target support to businesses when they need it most.
The Case for Increased EAS Adoption Within the West Midlands Production Industry
Earlier this year Make UK partnered with the West Midlands Combined Authority to explore the potential for enhanced Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) adoption within the West Midlands industrial sector.
Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, survey fieldwork with more than a hundred manufacturers from within the region across all sizes, and qualitative insights from industry stakeholders, this work makes the economic case for expanding RAS integration across the region.
Findings reveal significant productivity and labour market benefits associated with RAS, alongside specific challenges and opportunities unique to the West Midlands that should be addressed in order to maximise the potential for future RAS adoption in the region.
The report offers a clear and practical overview of:
Prevalence of RAS adoption in the West Midlands.
Key barriers preventing wider implementation.
Challenges and opportunities unique to the region.
Strategic recommendations to drive uptake and competitiveness.
The findings show RAS has the potential to deliver significant productivity gains, strengthen the labour market, and position the West Midlands as a national leader in industrial automation.
However, unlocking this potential requires coordinated action - from policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators alike.
Thank you for reading. For more information or a copy of the report visit our website here.