Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to create strategic investment plans for automation and digitalisation to help UK manufacturing businesses.

Made Smarter, the UK industrial digitalisation programme, helps manufacturers capitalise on new digital technologies, slash carbon emissions and drive-up productivity. This includes a £24m adoption programme supporting SMEs in 5 key manufacturing regions, and a £147m innovation programme to develop new technology. A competition launched in January will invest £6m late-stage robotics and automation innovation in manufacturing.

Budget 2023 introduced Full Expensing, allowing 100% deduction of the cost of qualifying plant and machinery from profits before tax, and a first-year allowance, allowing 50% deduction of the cost of other machinery, from profits during the year of purchase.