Autumn Statement must reassure business and be a down payment on new Industrial Strategy, says EEF

Steve Warren, North West Region Director at EEF

The Chancellor must use his Autumn Statement to tackle the fallout from political uncertainty and reassure nervous businesses with measures aimed at boosting investment and growth in support of a new industrial strategy.

The call is made by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation in its submission to the Chancellor and comes after a survey showing one in four manufacturing companies are holding off investment plans amid increased political uncertainty.

According to EEF, while the statement must reinforce a commitment to prudent financial planning, the Chancellor must signal a moderate fiscal stimulus package aimed at boosting innovation and export support for UK manufacturers. It should also aim to remove bottlenecks holding back capital investment and push through further infrastructure commitments – from improved digital broadband connectivity to local road schemes.

However, while EEF supports the Government’s decision to abandon the budget surplus target, the Chancellor faces a balancing act in avoiding an overly expansive fiscal stimulus programme while the consequences of Brexit remain uncertain. Instead, the Government should retain its ability to deploy heavier fiscal artillery next year if evidence points to a sharp slowdown in UK economic activity.

Commenting, Steve Warren, North West Region Director of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said: “The Government’s commitment to an industrial strategy has come at the right time with the new administration setting a clear and welcome precedent. The Chancellor has a significant opportunity to put a down payment on this through a range of measures which prioritise productivity growth, boost investment in digital technologies and supports exports.

“The whole of Government must get behind UK businesses and demonstrate a clear appreciation of the need to back such a strategy, backing sectors while also tackling systemic problems such as skills, energy costs and infrastructure weaknesses. Creating such an environment in the North West will instil confidence in manufacturers to pursue their business ambitions, anchoring investment in our Region, and ensuring that we take early advantage of new digital technologies.”

According to EEF, the statement should underpin efforts to improve productivity, combined with an industrial strategy helping to set out a clear path to long-term growth.

Such a strategy should include measures to boost innovation, R&D and key technologies as part of the fourth industrial revolution. It should also involve major investment in infrastructure and a new and joined-up energy strategy.

The statement should support manufacturers’ own priorities with an industrial strategy that has four key themes at its core, a more productive and flexible workforce, more reliable and resilient infrastructure, a lower cost of doing business and better support for growing businesses.

Specific recommendations in the submission include:

1. Better support for growing businesses

• Extend the scope of the R&D tax credit to allow for more process innovation by SMEs
• Increase the level of the R&D tax credit under the Large Companies scheme
• Establish a Technology Catalyst Fund to support the early adoption of technologies that can deliver productivity gains
• Introduce a review of the current capital allowances regime for investment
• Increase funding for export support

2. Delivering a more productive and flexible workplace

• Build on improvements in the design of the Apprenticeship Levy
• Abolish plans to introduce the immigration skills charge 
• Alter the tax system to encourage employers to pay for private health care

3. A more reliable and resilient infrastructure

• Establish a roadmap for full delivery of full fibre broadband to the premise rollout
• Expand the scope of the roads fund beyond the strategic road network
• Prioritise local infrastructure projects 

4. Lower the cost of doing business

• Remove plant and machinery from business rate calculations
• Support company pension schemes with measures to make them more affordable 
• Outline a clear timetable to remove the Carbon Price Floor
• Take further action to reduce the energy price gap for steel producers