The Chancellor, ahead of his Autumn Statement, has been urged to invest in the economy. The proposal has been made by the Chemical Industries Association as part of a submission to the Treasury on the Autumn Statement. The submission which the Association has published is made on behalf of its chemical and pharmaceutical business members. The sector is one of the UK’s top export earners.
Steve Elliott Chief Executive of the Association said “investing in the economy while there are low borrowing costs will help to fill any vacuum caused by private certainty uncertainty in the Brexit circumstances. Public investment should be undertaken to boost the long run productive capacity of the UK economy through investments in energy, education, affordable housing, science, innovation, digital infrastructure and physical infrastructure like roads and hospitals. Public investment is particularly important as other economic policy measures like lower interest rates and quantitative easing have reduced impact in a low interest rate environment. These other policies also have significant distributional impacts not usually associated with public investment projects that create jobs at all levels and improves the productivity of all citizens”.
The industry has also called for a true industrial strategy. Elliott continued “An industrial strategy is a key to unlocking the growth potential of the sector as well as the wider economy, particularly at this time of heightened uncertainty. A successful industrial strategy will address issues at the national, sectoral and regional levels as well as improve productivity and international competitiveness. We believe that the Treasury should fund policies, particular those aimed at addressing national issues, such as internationally competitive business taxes, world leading incentives for business investment in new capital and innovation and public investment in education. Such policies would have a positive impact not only on industrial growth but also national growth. It is also essential that the Treasury supports elements of past industrial strategies that continue to deliver success.
On energy, Elliott said “We have called for Government to:
o Abolish the Carbon Price Floor (CPF) at the earliest opportunity
o Provide greater certainty about the future level of the Levy Control Framework (LCF)
o Support a mature energy efficiency and decarbonisation technology fund
o Get on with exploiting our huge potential for shale gas through working with local communities to minimise any disruption and environmental impact”.
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For further information please call Simon Marsh 07951 389197.
Click here to access CIA's submission to the Autumn Statement
The chemical and pharmaceutical industry adds £15 billion of value to the UK economy every year from total annual turnover of around £50 billion.
The UK is a leading global chemical and pharmaceutical producer.
Over £4 billion of capital and R&D investment is made by UK chemical and pharmaceutical companies.
The sector employs around 140,000 people directly and supports in total around half a million jobs in the UK economy. The direct workforce is highly skilled and earns on average 30% more than the average UK manufacturing worker.