Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the University of Leeds report entitled Why doesn’t the UK make more Robots?, published in November 2025, what steps her Department is taking to help support the domestic manufacture of robotics and autonomous systems, including to support national security and productivity.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Initiatives to support manufacture of robotics and autonomous systems include the £99m Made Smarter programme which funds the development and commercialisation of industrial digital technologies, including robotics, and supports their adoption by manufacturing SMEs. The Manufacturing Technology Centre, part of the Catapult network of research centres, has launched an accelerator programme offering a range of support to develop robotics and automation solutions.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the University of Leeds report entitled Why doesn’t the UK make more Robots?, published in November 2025, what steps she is taking to help reduce skills gaps within the domestic robotics industry.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February 2026, Government launched the Robotics Adoption Skills Development Programme which will provide up to £2.5m for projects to develop and deliver course content and materials to support skills, talent and training in robotics. This seeks to address the skills gaps in being able to procure, integrate, operate and maintain robotics and autonomous systems. Other examples include the Manufacturing Technology Centre providing a range of robotics training and skills packages, the UK Atomic Energy Authority offering specialised robotics and remote handling courses and the ACORN accelerator which funds training and collaboration in nuclear robotics.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the University of Leeds report entitled Why doesn’t the UK make more Robots?, published in November 2025, what steps she is taking to help tackle scaling barriers for UK-designed and manufactured robotics and autonomous systems.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government measures to support robotics firms to scale up in the UK includes crowding-in private sector investment via the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund, both with expanded capitalisations and a mandate to support companies aligned with the Industrial Strategy. The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) assesses UK’s approach to regulation to ensure the regulatory system adapts to keep pace with innovation. Robotics is a current priority for RIO which will be assessing where barriers can be removed to accelerate innovation and deployment.