{"id":67900,"date":"2016-02-24T12:33:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T12:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=6f6cf22fd18b32d56847b0a1b56840e2"},"modified":"2016-02-24T12:33:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-24T12:33:00","slug":"speech-british-manufacturing-supporting-a-world-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=67900","title":{"rendered":"Speech: British manufacturing: supporting a world leader"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It\u2019s great to be here this morning.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s great to see so many of the sector\u2019s leading lights coming together to answer the big questions of our time.<\/p>\n

What does the future hold for British manufacturing?<\/p>\n

Can we compete in the face of cheap imports from emerging economies?<\/p>\n

And are there any factories in the UK that haven\u2019t been visited by George Osborne?<\/p>\n

Apparently there\u2019s a whole website devoted to photos of the Chancellor wearing hard hats and high-vis jackets\u2026<\/p>\n

We\u2019re British.<\/p>\n

And, as you have just heard from the Prime Minister, that means we make things.<\/p>\n

We always have.<\/p>\n

We always will.<\/p>\n

We invented modern industry, and we\u2019ve played a role in countless technological leaps forward since.<\/p>\n

We can be proud of our manufacturing heritage.<\/p>\n

And we should be equally positive about Britain\u2019s manufacturing future. <\/p>\n

Sadly that doesn\u2019t seem to be a fashionable thing for politicians and commentators to say right now.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I turn on the radio or open the newspaper and all I get is negativity, people talking you down. <\/p>\n

\u201cManufacturing is in terminal decline,\u201d they say. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t build anything anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just a service economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonsense. <\/p>\n

When I look at manufacturing, when I look at the people in this hall, I don\u2019t see malaise. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see failure. <\/p>\n

I see people who are creating jobs, creating growth. <\/p>\n

I see the people who are building what Britain needs and what the world wants.<\/p>\n

Yes, the first decade of this century was one of industrial decline in Britain.<\/p>\n

But over the past 6 years, manufacturing output is up. <\/p>\n

Jobs are up.<\/p>\n

Exports are up. <\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s manufacturing base spans almost 90,000 employers and provides work for millions of people.<\/p>\n

Just this morning, we\u2019ve heard that Aston Martin is creating 750 skilled manufacturing jobs in Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Foreign direct investment is up more than 60% since 2010. <\/p>\n

You represent the most innovative and intensive R&D<\/abbr> sector in the UK, accounting for \u00a313 billion of investment each year.<\/p>\n

And over the past decade manufacturing productivity has increased 3 times faster than the economy as a whole, something reflected in today\u2019s EEF<\/abbr> report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2015 was the most successful year ever for our \u00a323 billion aircraft industry, with delivery numbers up 44% since 2010. <\/p>\n

A new car rolls off a British production line every 20 seconds, with 80% destined for export.<\/p>\n

The world flies in British-built planes and drives British-built cars. <\/p>\n

And as I never get bored of pointing out, the Australians are throwing British-made boomerangs. <\/p>\n

I know that not all British manufacturers are part of this boom. <\/p>\n

Unprecedented conditions in the international steel market have had a devastating effect on too many British communities.<\/p>\n

And the recent announcement by Bombardier was absolutely crushing for hundreds of skilled, hardworking people in Belfast.<\/p>\n

As we have repeatedly shown, when such challenges arise this government will do everything within its power to support the companies and people affected. <\/p>\n

And that includes not talking down the rest of the sector. <\/p>\n

Not losing sight of the fact that British manufacturing can boast success after success.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sector we should all be proud of.<\/p>\n

And in the EEF<\/abbr> it has a very worthy champion. <\/p>\n

The challenge is to maintain that success in a period of rapid technological change.<\/p>\n

Whether you call it \u2018Industry 4.0\u2019 or the \u2018fourth industrial revolution\u2019, it\u2019s impossible to deny that the way in which we live and work is undergoing a seismic shift. <\/p>\n

While that can bring incredible benefits for the consumer, we have to acknowledge that change is also going to disrupt the workplace.<\/p>\n

As long ago as 2013, Oxford academics warned that half of all jobs could be computerised within the next 2 decades.<\/p>\n

Last year, McKinsey said that 45% of current jobs could be adequately performed by technology that already exists.<\/p>\n

The University of Massachusetts has even created a computer programme that can write and deliver speeches for politicians! <\/p>\n

If you see a machine being lined up to take your job, it\u2019s little consolation to know that the resulting rise in productivity will help the overall economy. <\/p>\n

But again and again through the history of manufacturing, we have seen how new inventions, new ideas and new technologies actually create new opportunities for workers. <\/p>\n

We just can\u2019t always see what they are until they arrive. <\/p>\n

After all, the job descriptions of the future have yet to be written. <\/p>\n

The role of government is not to stand on the beach and attempt to turn back the tide of change.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s to do all we can to help you ride the wave it creates.<\/p>\n

Minimising the negatives while making the most of the limitless opportunities on offer.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not going to stand here and tell you how you should respond to this change.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of important and influential individuals speaking here today.<\/p>\n

A lot of very clever people.<\/p>\n

But no politician or journalist or think-tank wonk knows manufacturing like you do. <\/p>\n

Only you can decide the right way forward for your business.<\/p>\n

Only you can make the most of the opportunities brought by new technology and new insights.<\/p>\n

And only you can navigate the risks. <\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re entirely on your own.<\/p>\n

For one thing you have the EEF<\/abbr> supporting you.<\/p>\n

And you also have a Business Secretary who is on your side. <\/p>\n

Manufacturing matters to Britain.<\/p>\n

It matters to this government.<\/p>\n

And it matters to me personally.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing is in my blood. <\/p>\n

Fifty-five years ago, in 1961, my father Abdul landed in this country for the first time.<\/p>\n

He headed north to Lancashire, then the home of countless cotton mills.<\/p>\n

And every morning he got up, and he queued outside one of those mills.<\/p>\n

And eventually the foreman invited him in and offered him his first job. <\/p>\n

Fast forward a decade, and the soundtrack of my childhood was the clattering of my mother\u2019s Singer sewing machine.<\/p>\n

She was making the clothes to be sold on my dad\u2019s market stall. <\/p>\n

So I grew up in a home where manufacturing was the bedrock of success.<\/p>\n

A home where we had what we had because my parents made things. <\/p>\n

And I will never forget the lessons I learned there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I know how vital your work is.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m absolutely passionate about what you do.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to say that I respect the EEF<\/abbr>, I listen to what you have to say and I act on it.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month an EEF<\/abbr> survey found that half of companies say their internet connectivity, while fine for now, will not be suitable for their future needs. <\/p>\n

Off the back of that survey, the EEF<\/abbr> called for a government review of business broadband. <\/p>\n

Today, I can announce that that\u2019s exactly what will happen. <\/p>\n

Working alongside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, we will look at the broadband speeds that businesses need now and in the future. <\/p>\n

We will look at the barriers that exist for businesses to get the affordable, high speed broadband they need.<\/p>\n

And we will look at the whole issue of leased lines and the role they play in the market.<\/p>\n

In doing so, we will take in to account Ofcom\u2019s review of digital communications, which will be published tomorrow, and its review of leased lines, to be published next month. <\/p>\n

We recognise that leased lines need to be competitively priced. <\/p>\n

We want to see charge controls on leased lines where appropriate, and, of course, we want to see more competition in the provision of broadband services and products.<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u2019s not all we\u2019re doing for manufacturing.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also investing in your future success. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had to make a lot of tough decisions over the past 6 years, to get the economy back on track.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not afraid to invest where it can really make a difference.<\/p>\n

I know that the inspired ideas of today are the profitable businesses of tomorrow. <\/p>\n

So at last year\u2019s Spending Review I was proud to secure an investment of almost \u00a37 billion as part of the national science capital commitment. The highest ever. And I also won protection for the annual \u00a34.7 billion government funding for science, research and development.<\/p>\n

We also fund a third of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult<\/a>, which has seen \u00a3300 million invested in just 5 years. <\/p>\n

The Catapult helps manufacturers turn innovative research into real-world success. <\/p>\n

And when you achieve that success, when your new product starts making money, I don\u2019t believe you should be penalised for it.<\/p>\n

Your profits should go to you \u2013 not the government.<\/p>\n

So we have the lowest corporation tax of any G7 nation.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re reviewing business rates.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re using the tax system to encourage and support the kind of cutting-edge thinking that makes British manufacturing a world leader. <\/p>\n

Since last month the annual investment allowance has been set at its highest-ever permanent level, \u00a3200,000.<\/p>\n

The Research and Development Tax Credits<\/a> scheme underpins work worth more than \u00a314 billion at more than 18,000 companies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s backed up with the Patent Box<\/a>, offering a significantly reduced corporation tax rate for companies that invest in new ideas. <\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019m never going to let the state do is strangle innovative manufacturers with red tape.<\/p>\n

Never mind the fourth industrial revolution\u2026<\/p>\n

Sometimes feels like there are corners of Whitehall where they\u2019re still getting to grips with first one! <\/p>\n

And if government regulators attempt to keep up with the pace of change in manufacturing and industry, only one thing will happen.<\/p>\n

A blizzard of directives, outdated before they\u2019re even published, will stop innovative manufacturers in their tracks.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t write a rule book for ideas that haven\u2019t been thought up yet. <\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t have to mean a free-for-all that puts workers and consumers at risk.<\/p>\n

Look at our approach to driverless cars. <\/p>\n

They clearly have a major role to play in the future of global transport, and I want Britain to be right at the forefront of their development.<\/p>\n

So rather than imposing a complex web of regulations for developers and manufacturers, we\u2019ve created a simple code of conduct that ensures basic safety standards are met.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that manufacturing is moving forwards, and that the government is doing all it can to support that.<\/p>\n

But for too long the way we look at and measure what you do has been stuck in the past.<\/p>\n

Looking at the raw output figures and concluding that manufacturing represents 10% of our economy is far too simplistic.<\/p>\n

In a complex, intertwined global economy we have to recognise the whole of the manufacturing value chain.<\/p>\n

That is, all those activities that take place upstream and downstream of production.<\/p>\n

So I welcome the independent metrics report<\/a> undertaken by Professor Sir Mike Gregory and his expert team, and published today on GOV.UK.<\/p>\n

Mike and his team looked at opportunities for improving our understanding and measurement of modern manufacturing activity and they\u2019ve developed a number of interesting proposals.<\/p>\n

These include a representation of the manufacturing value chain that suggests it provides employment to more than 5 million people; pilot exercises testing the potential of data analytics to supplement national data and provide new insights on modern manufacturing activity; and, for the first time, a detailed looked at digital-era business models and their interaction with the value chain. <\/p>\n

When we underestimate the contribution manufacturers make to the economy, we are doing you all a disservice.<\/p>\n

Sir Mike\u2019s review isn\u2019t an attempt to move the goalposts or fiddle the figures.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about giving you the credit you so richly deserve.<\/p>\n

The mill my father worked in has, like many others, long since closed its doors.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean Britain no longer manufactures textiles. <\/p>\n

Today, we have companies like Unmade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Run by a trio of Royal College of Art graduates, Unmade uses the latest technology to let shoppers customise and manufacture their own unique knitwear.<\/p>\n

Everything is bespoke, with zero waste and a minimum commercial order of one.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s still a small, niche business.<\/p>\n

But as I always say, even the biggest company started out as one or two people with an idea and the get-up-and-go to make it happen.<\/p>\n

And Unmade is an important example.<\/p>\n

Because the future of British manufacturing is not a race to the bottom against emerging economies with standards as low as their prices.<\/p>\n

The future lies in quality and innovation. <\/p>\n

In doing things other countries simply haven\u2019t figured out how to do yet.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t undercut ideas. <\/p>\n

The industry in which you work is changing.<\/p>\n

But we cannot allow British manufacturing to be left behind.<\/p>\n

And I will not allow British manufacturing to be left behind.<\/p>\n

You led the world before.<\/p>\n

In many areas you lead the world today.<\/p>\n

And, as Business Secretary, it is my personal mission to see that you continue to lead the world for many years to come. <\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sajid Javid tells the EEF National Manufacturing Conference why he\u2019s personally committed to supporting British industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67900"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}