Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether it is her Department's policy to roll out the made smarter programme nationally.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government has committed almost £200 million for Made Smarter to help UK manufacturers capitalise on Industrial Digital Technologies.
The £50m Made Smarter Adoption programme is available in 5 English regions.
It is complemented by a £147m Innovate UK-led Made Smarter Innovation programme.
The £9m invested in the Adoption programme’s pilot phase added an estimated £68m gross value added to the region and an increase in 800 SME manufacturing jobs. Further evidence is being gathered including through a full evaluation of the programme. This will inform any future iterations of the programme, as part of the usual policy-making process.