Vince Cable: 拢100 million to support domestic supply chains and create new jobs
Vince Cable announces 拢100 million to help companies strengthen their domestic supply chains and create or safeguard thousands of jobs.
Business Secretary Vince Cable today (11 April 2014) announced 拢100 million to help companies strengthen their domestic supply chains and create or safeguard thousands of jobs.
The new funding will provide support for the increasing trend of 鈥榬eshoring鈥�, as companies bring manufacturing back to the UK from abroad.
Speaking at MACH, the manufacturing technology showcase at the NEC in Birmingham, Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
A strong manufacturing sector is vital to a balanced economic recovery, and I want to ensure that Britain鈥檚 supply chains are up to the task of supporting the sector in the long term.
Our industrial strategy, which has given business the confidence to invest, is paying dividends in the reshoring we have seen so far. We will continue to support businesses to secure more highly skilled jobs and a stronger economy.
Previous recipients of funding from the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) have included technology for increasing the scale of 3D printing of metals; and reshoring the manufacture of cats鈥� eyes from overseas to the UK
The scheme aims to rebuild Britain鈥檚 manufacturing prowess. Four previous rounds of funding have secured nearly half a billion pounds of public-private investment to 44 projects including more than 180 organisations, directly creating or safeguarding more than 15,000 jobs. The scheme has indirectly created or safeguarded a further 15,000.
Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive at EEF, the manufacturers鈥� organisation, said:
This is another welcome boost for British manufacturing, which will have a positive impact on the wider economy. Our own research shows that in the last 3 years, 1 in 6 companies have re-shored production back to the UK with many turning to a UK-based supply chain for parts and components. High value manufacturing creates jobs and wealth here so I鈥檓 delighted to see the government getting behind it.
Companies across England looking to strengthen their supply chains through capital investments, research and development, and skills training will be able to start bidding for funding later in the Spring.
The manufacturing sector supports 2 and a half million jobs and contributes almost 拢140 billion a year to the UK.
Notes to editors:
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The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) is a funding competition designed to improve the global competitiveness of UK advanced manufacturing supply chains and encourage major new suppliers to locate in the UK.
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The new round of funding will be more flexible, with investment decisions being taken at a number of points throughout the year to provide better alignment with the investment timetables of companies.
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Further information will be made available shortly
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The government鈥檚 economic policy objective is to achieve 鈥榮trong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries鈥�. It set 4 ambitions in the 鈥楶lan for Growth鈥�:
- to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
- to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
- to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
- to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.