ENGINEERED IN BRITAIN MANUFACTURING A SUCCESSFUL ECONOMY?

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
FOR MANUFACTURING
From a political perspective, the UK’s
manufacturing sector is experiencing a
renaissance. Today, Ministers and MPs from
across the political spectrum are more eager
than ever to visit our factories and innovation
centres, and promote the advanced technologies
being developed or manufactured by our
engineers and scientists.
Influential political heavyweights, such as the
Rt Hon George Osborne MP, have also been
strong vocal advocates for British science
and engineering, helping to promote to the
media, and therefore the public, its value and
contribution to the economy. It is undeniable
that this increased political focus on science,
engineering and manufacturing stems from
the 2008 financial meltdown, and the public’s
wariness of the banking and financial industries.
Having said that, the results of the 2015
Engineered in Britain survey show a divergence
between the perceptions of manufacturers and
the public on political support for the sector – a
first in the five years of this survey. Although
political exposure has helped the sector to
achieve a wider positive profile (and this is
reflected in this year’s public survey results),
the manufacturers’ survey indicates a near
cross-the-board decline in their perceptions of
Government’s support of the sector. This may
be a reflection of sectors’ continuing concerns
of a global economic slowdown, especially in
China and the EU, which has a direct impact
on exports.
In the 2014 EIB survey, both the public and
manufacturers seemed more confident than
in 2013 that Government was committed
to creating a more balanced economy
(manufacturers: 37%–48%; public: 24%–33%).
This reflected the optimism in our economy,
which was growing faster than almost any other
developed nation. However, by 2015 the view
from both survey groups had noticeably gone in
different directions.
Question three provoked a strong majority vote,
where both the public (56%) and manufacturers
(84%) groups continue to believe that
Government (overall) remains more committed
to supporting the financial sector than
to manufacturing.
On policy performance (Q6), most polled results
seem to record a positive increase from the 2014
survey, although again a majority of areas still
recorded below 50% approval ratings. Notable
changes with the public survey approval ratings
were Government policy on education and
skills (2014 21%–46% 2015), environment (2014
18%–41% 2015), energy (2014 15%–36% 2015) and
transport (2014 17%–31% 2015). These results
show sizable improvements in perceptions
compared to the 2014 survey, and do not reflect
some well-profiled difficulties experienced in
these areas over the last 12 months, such as
the reduction in renewable energy subsidies,
continuing concerns about new nuclear
build, uncertainty over the UK’s transport
infrastructure to meet future demands (although
the Institution welcomes the formulation of the
National Infrastructure Commission), and the
provision of a new airport runway in the South
East of England.
Finally, question five gained the strongest
support from both groups, asking if Government
should award manufacturing contracts to
British-based companies, even if this were a
more expensive option. Overwhelmingly the
public (75%) and manufacturers (80%) supported
this view.
The Institution first asked this question back
in 2011, after Siemens was awarded the
Thameslink contract over Bombardier, resulting
in the loss of 1,400 UK jobs. Even after nearly five
years, and changes to Government procurement
procedure to try to avoid a similar outcome, there
still remains a strong view that Government
should do more to back its own manufacturing
base in a similar way to Germany and France.
In 2015, public optimism and belief in
Government’s commitment to a more balanced
economy (Q1) continue to grow (2014 33%–40%
2015), whereas manufacturers have become less
convinced (2014 48%–45% 2015). Furthermore,
when asked about future confidence in our
manufacturing sector (Q4), the public vote nearly
doubled (2014 15%–29% 2015) contradicting the
manufacturers’ vote which again declined (2014
61%–51% 2015). When asked if Government
policy was helping manufacturers (Q2), again
the public had a more positive perception (2014
34%–38% 2015) whereas manufacturers saw a
decline in confidence (2014 41%–39%).
imeche.org/engineeredinbritain
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