Autumn Budget 2024: Labour backs UK’s tech and creative sectors

The UK’s technology and creative industries received a boost in Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget on Wednesday, as the Chancellor laid out capital investment plans that she said will “drive growth across the country.”

Reeves confirmed plans to “capitalise” the National Wealth Fund to back industries set for future growth, including gigafactories, ports, and green hydrogen.

The move is part of a broader Modern Industrial Strategy, with targeted investment set to support sectors with high-growth potential.

Reeves confirmed plans to “capitalise” the National Wealth Fund to back industries set for future growth, including gigafactories, ports, and green hydrogen. 

The move is part of a broader Modern Industrial Strategy, with targeted investment set to support sectors with high-growth potential.

The Budget included a slate of multi-year funding allocations, including £1bn for the aerospace sector, over £2bn for the automotive industry, with a focus on supporting electric vehicle production, and up to £520m for a new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

Reeves boosts creative industries and NHS

Reeves also improved tax relief for Britain’s creative industries, particularly for VFX in TV and film, and allocated £25m to the North East Combined Authority to redevelop the Crown Works Studios site in Sunderland, projected to create 8,000 new jobs.

Reeves reiterated the government’s commitment to research and development, with more than £20bn earmarked for research funding across fields like engineering, biotechnology and medical science. 

Additionally, the Chancellor committed £500m to improve mobile broadband coverage, especially in rural areas, through the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

In a further pledge, Reeves announced a £22.6bn boost to the NHS budget to deliver a two per cent productivity increase next year. This funding is to help drive the health service’s shift “from analogue to digital” over the next decade.

Mark Leftwich, managing director of Philips UK & Ireland, welcomed this new funding, saying it “is a chance to start pulling the NHS back on track.”

“State-of-the-art technology is changing the way that care is delivered in pockets, but increased investment in digital and innovation is needed to accelerate this at scale,” he said.

“Primarily, we want to see this increase in capital investment come to life across facilities, infrastructure and innovation. Focus should be on digitising NHS services, bringing the single patient records to life, and shifting care from hospitals to home,” Leftwich explained.