Thank you Madam Chair,
The UK believes that innovation is the key driver of economic growth necessary to recover from the pandemic. It improves both the living standards of citizens and society by creating new ideas, products, or processes.
I’d like to share some of the key elements of our approach in harnessing innovation as part of a sustainable economic revival.
First, technological change is rapid and global competition is forcing us to think about how we can support the technologies and sectors that will shape our future economies. The UK’s digital and creative industries are a key driver of growth and innovation. We foster a safe, fair, and open digital economy, building on our strengths in foundational technology like AI, quantum computing and digital twins so that the sector flourishes.
Second, the British Business Bank, a state-owned bank for economic development, was established by the UK Government to address regional disparities in accessing finance. It is also addressing gender diversity and other challenges.
A regulatory system that supports an innovative economy must be able to accommodate new products, processes, and business models. The UK government uses regulation to unlock cutting-edge technologies like drones and autonomous cars. It also eases the regulatory compliance burden for businesses and hard-wires competition principles into regulatory decision making.
Finally, we must encourage the diffusion and adoption of innovative ideas and technologies throughout the economy. Even the most innovative economies are not characterized by a large number of firms that are at the forefront of innovation. Firms can reap the full benefits of innovation when they adopt and disseminate new ideas and technologies throughout the economy. Studies have shown that ICT is able to improve productivity by 20% when implemented with good management practices. If ICT is used in conjunction with poor management practices, it only results in a 2% increase in productivity.
COVID-19 has forced businesses into a complete rethink of their operations. According to BeTheBusiness, digital transformation lasted 3 years and was completed in the 3 months that followed March 2020. In the UK we are working with industry to develop a new management programme to upskill 30,000 SMEs and announcing Help to Grow: Digital, a new scheme to help 100,000 SMEs save time and money by offering them vouchers so they can adopt productivity-enhancing software as well as free impartial advice.
These are just a few of the many measures that the UK is taking in order to harness the power of innovation to help drive a sustainable economic recovery. I am grateful for your attention.