Its not often that I find myself agreeing with David Cameron, but when he said that the Chancellor had missed an opportunity, I had to agree. For weeks now, we’ve heard that SMEs and start-ups are the backbone of the economy they generate half the UK’s turnover and employ half its workforce but, in the worst recession since the 1920s, yesterday’s was an SME free budget.
But, when reading through the hundreds of pages of text following his brief 45 minute announcement, I began to notice a chink of light and a bit of promise. £750m funding for science and technology. Focus on clean technologies, creative industries and innovation.
Darling has committed to a new £750m Strategic Investment Fund designed to improve the creation of emerging technologies, boost the UK’s innovation capacity and prepare for a 21st century economy. The chancellor said: “This new fund will provide financial support, focusing on emerging technologies and regionally important sectors in, for example, advanced manufacturing, digital and biotechnology. It will encourage exports, support inward investment, promote research and development and harness commercially our world-class science base. These efforts also have the potential to create thousands of hi-tech businesses and hundreds of thousands of high-skilled jobs,” he added.
In addition, Darling reaffirmed the government’s commitment to science and technology as cornerstones of the UK economy, stating that future growth will “increasingly come from an expansion in investment by businesses in the industries of the future, such as low-carbon, advanced manufacturing and communications. These industries, together, are as important to the British economy as the financial services sector. That is why it has been so important that we have increased investment in Britain’s science base by 88% in real terms over the last ten years,” continued Darling.
So, we’re going to come out of the recession stronger economically and competitively by creating thousands of high tech businesses and hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs? Actually, I’m now beginning to find something that I do like in the Budget!
So how are we going to create these businesses and jobs, grow them and make them sustainable? Maybe the Chancellor needs to talk to his opposite number within the Conservatives. David Mott recently presented a working group paper to George Osbourne and the Shadow Cabinet entitled Supporting Clean Tech Enterprise In the UK: The Role of Incubators where he argues that a network of incubators, focussed on and funded to support clean tech innovations, will bring about real economical and technical advancements – positive to the economy and the environment.
The report argues that for £9M invested in clean tech incubators, 75 high tech businesses will be created and grown. After 6 years, and £45M public investment, 300 high tech businesses will be sustainable, all paying back valuable taxes, all employing highly skilled workers, all supporting a better environment for the world and all ensuring that the UK is competing on a global level. If only the Chancellor had read it before he invested so much in the dysfunctional financial sector.
Yesterday was a missed opportunity. A missed opportunity to focus on the UK’s economic and environmental challenges and support UKBI’s existing network of specialised, skilled incubators already nurturing these succcessful high tech, innovative businesses in the UK .
Toni Wanklin
Marketing and Development Manager
UKBI
Tags: budget, clean tech, high tech, incubation
May 2, 2009 at 9:08 am |
Well said and might I say well written! There has been so much investment in technology R&D both through universities and businesses but very little funds to invest in developing the management of young technology businesses, that’s what good incubation Programmes can do. Let’s celebrate the successful growth of UK businesses rather than the early sale and exit.