Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support tech start-up companies to scale up in the Midlands.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to removing barriers to growth for scaleups across the UK - ensuring the UK is one of the best places for tech to start, scale and stay.
We are strengthening regional tech ecosystems through the Regional Tech Booster, a programme supporting startups and accelerating tech clusters beyond London. Furthermore, £50 million funding has been earmarked to the West Midlands through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund – our £500 million programme to grow regional innovation strengths. Regions across the UK, including the other Midlands regions, were able to bid for up to £20 million through the fund’s competition. UKRI are now independently assessing the quality of these bids.
More broadly, we are supporting the sector through venture capital schemes, R&D tax reliefs, targeted visa routes, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and streamlining regulation to support innovation. Through the Budget, we are investing in skills, compute, and designated AI Growth Zones; on R&D, we are committing £38.6bn to UKRI over five years; and powering entrepreneurship with the Entrepreneurship Prospectus, Enterprise Fellowships, and Innovate UK’s £130m Growth Catalyst. We are unlocking finance via pension and capital‑markets reforms, while the British Business Bank increases annual investment to £2.5bn and commits £5bn to growth‑stage funds.
Together, these measures set out a comprehensive, long‑term plan backed by record funding, to support growth across the whole UK.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with (a) the West Midlands Combined Authority and (b) Birmingham city council on the AI Growth Zones scheme.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The government recognises the critical role of AI infrastructure in supporting advanced AI technologies. The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines how the UK can build the cutting-edge compute infrastructure needed to lead in AI development and deployment, securing long-term economic growth and staying at the forefront of AI innovation.
We are interested in partnering with local and regional authorities and devolved administrations to establish AI Growth Zones, ensuring substantial regional and national benefits, such as upskilling and employment opportunities, are felt across the country.
On Monday 10 February, local and regional authorities, along with industry, were invited to come forward with potential sites suitable for hosting AI infrastructure as an early expression of interest. This was followed by a discussion about towns in the Birmingham area.