Recommendation 15

HM Government Accepted

A) The Advanced Manufacturing Plan details the Government’s three key priorities: investing in the long-term future of manufacturing, building supply chain resilience and reducing costs and removing barriers to boost competitiveness. B) The Government has a longstanding programme of support enabling battery R&D and manufacturing at any level through programmes aimed at encouraging innovation and support industrialisation across the battery supply chain. These include the Faraday Battery Challenge, the Advanced Propulsion Centre, the Automotive Transformation Fund and the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult. C) Building on this innovation ecosystem, the Advanced Manufacturing Plan sets out how the UK continues to lead in the development and deployment of clean and digital manufacturing technologies. It also provides businesses with a clear commitment to the longer-term success of the sector. It takes targeted and strategic action to ensure our business environment and international competitiveness remain strong. D) As part of the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, we have announced Auto2030, an ambitious programme building on the work of the Automotive Transformation Fund and the Advanced Propulsion Centre R&D programmes, ensuring continuity in HMG support. Auto2030 will unlock investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and the wider supply chain. It will support the R&D and the commercial scale up of innovative zero emission vehicle technologies. E) The UK Battery Strategy has established the Government’s integrated approach to supporting the sector and outlined our priorities for our future work with industry. The UK is uniquely placed to benefit from the rising global demand for batteries thanks to our key areas of comparative advantage, including our world class institutions conducting research and development into battery chemistry optimisation, our leading electric vehicle battery start-up ecosystem, and our automotive manufacturing sector, which has the second highest value in Europe. F) As described in the UK Battery Strategy, the Government has consistently displayed international leadership in securing access to the critical inputs of our clean grown sectors, including through the publication of the Supply Chains Resilience Framework and the Critical Minerals Strategy. G) The Government has recently taken significant steps to strengthen the business environment through improved planning and permitting, more competitive energy prices, and enhanced skills development. At the Autumn Statement, the Government announced measures to address barriers to investment, including: • Introducing permanent full expensing for plant and machinery will allow businesses to invest for less. With the tax cut now permanent, the UK will continue to offer both the lowest headline corporation tax rate in the G7 and the most generous capital allowances in the OECD group of advanced economies. • Through the Grid Connections Action Plan, the Government also announced measures to speed up the delivery of energy infrastructure, cutting average connection times from 5 years to no more than 6 months beyond the date requested by the customer. Collectively, this package will bring forward investment of more than £90 billion over the next 10 years.