Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Accepted
To help bridge the “scaling-up gap”, the Department for Transport should work with the Department...
Recommendation
To help bridge the “scaling-up gap”, the Department for Transport should work with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to develop business skills support for SMEs in the maritime sector. Future iterations of the Technology Route Map should set out a clear strategy for supporting commercialisation as well as development of marine and maritime innovation. (Paragraph 108) Infrastructure and ports
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and outlines existing cross-departmental efforts to support business skills development for SMEs in the maritime sector, including the MCCO, Help to Grow Management UK, and the Made Smarter programme, as well as existing funding opportunities.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees with the recommendation and works across departmental boundaries to help SMEs to develop their business skills, including in the maritime sector. We work across Whitehall to maximise the UK’s maritime exports and inward investment priorities, identifying investment and trade opportunities, and leveraging the wider Government initiatives and expertise to grow the Maritime trade sector. Examples of Government activity aimed at supporting the development of business skills are set out below. DfT works closely with DBT’s Maritime Capability Campaign Office (MCCO) which supports small and medium enterprises grow their export and international investment potential. DBT also offers the Help to Grow Management UK, which provides support for local and regional businesses (including small and mid-size enterprises) to access skills programmes, and the Made Smarter programme, which supports local manufacturers to innovate and grow with a focus on technology. To enable commercialisation of the maritime industry’s innovations, MarRI-UK was established in 2019 with £580k of initial operational funding from DfT. MarRI-UK has established a maritime research and innovation collaboration centre that includes Government, industry, regulatory authorities and academia to deliver key research and innovation projects at medium to high technology readiness level (TRL). As noted in the response to recommendation 7, the £206m UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) was announced as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh on 10 March 2022. This is the biggest Government investment ever in our commercial maritime sector and focuses on accelerating the technology necessary to decarbonise our domestic maritime sector, thereby aiding the development of marine and maritime innovation. DfT will ensure the maritime sector is able to use wider transport innovation funding available, such as the annual Transport and Research Innovation Grants (TRIG) that bridge the early stage, proof-of-concept funding gap in transport innovation, where small investments can de-risk emerging solutions. In addition, we encouraged ports to bid into the 2023 £7m Freight Innovation Fund (FIF), focused on accelerating the adoption of commercially ready solutions to address challenges in the UK’s freight sector. We expect Maritime UK to continue to play a key part in ensuring the industry is made aware of these funding opportunities and provide support in bid writing and business case development.