Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the National Semiconductor Strategy on 19 May, when they expect to make a decision on the level of financial support that will be offered to underpin the competitiveness of the semiconductor manufacturing sector; and what discussions they have had to inform this decision and with whom.

The National Semiconductor Strategy sets out the government’s plan to build on the UK’s strengths to grow our sector, increase our resilience and protect our security.

We will announce plans in the autumn to further support the competitiveness of the semiconductor manufacturing sector that is critical to the UK tech ecosystem or our national security.

The Government’s new Semiconductor Advisory Panel met on 14 September and informed the Government’s approach. The panel is representative of the UK’s semiconductor industry, and the ecosystem that supports it. In an independent capacity, experts from British titans such as ARM, IQE and PragmatIC sit on the panel, as well as representation from venture capital, academia and the RaspberryPi Foundation.