The prime minister is to unveil a
new, more interventionist, industrial strategy on Monday, designed to
boost the post-Brexit UK economy.
The government will be "stepping up to a new, active role", Mrs May said.
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| Theresa May |
She will launch the new strategy at her first regional cabinet meeting, to be held in the north-west of England.
Business leaders welcomed the plan which will focus on "sector deals" in areas such as life sciences and low-emission vehicles.
A
green paper
will set out ways the government can provide support to
businesses by addressing regulatory barriers, agreeing trade deals and
helping to establish institutions that encourage innovation and skills
development.'Landmark opportunity'
Smart
energy, robotics, artificial intelligence and 5G mobile network
technology are some of the areas that could receive support through a
new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, according to Downing Street.
The fund is part of £4.7bn in additional funding for research and development first announced in November.
Business
Secretary Greg Clark told the BBC that the UK was "a very centralised
country", but did not have "uniform prosperity" and many decisions could
be better made locally than in London.
In addition, while the UK
had some of the best universities in the world, people had not had the
alternative to learn practical skills.
"For many years, we have not been as good on technical education as our competitors," he said.
Welcoming
the new strategy, the director-general of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn,
said boosting productivity should be the priority as well as addressing
regional imbalances but said the new strategy provided a "landmark
opportunity".
"It must help fix the country's productivity
problems and remove the regional inequalities that have dogged our
country for generations, having a positive impact on living standards,
wages and the future opportunities of many people," she said.
Business will get a chance to consult on the industrial strategy
proposals. The Institute of Directors said the strategy must concentrate
on skills and infrastructure, not cash injections.
"It is painful
to watch established businesses fail, but the government should be very
sceptical of its power to keep struggling companies going through cash
payments," said James Sproule, director of policy at the IoD.
"Instead,
the focus should be on retraining anyone who becomes unemployed, so
that communities can adapt to changes in the economy."
'Too little'
But Labour's shadow business secretary, Clive Lewis, questioned how much money the government was investing in the strategy.
"This
belated attempt to develop a proper industrial strategy is a step in
the right direction, but once again what the Tories are offering looks
like too little too late," he said.
"We await further detail, but
what's been announced so far will fall far short of getting us back to
where we were in 2010, let alone equip our economy for the challenges of
the 21st Century."
The government has stated its aim of reducing
the UK economy's reliance on the services sector, especially financial
services, over the past few years, leading to former Chancellor George
Osborne's plans to create a Northern Powerhouse.
The challenge has come into greater focus as the UK faces negotiating a new economic relationship with the European Union.
Mrs May will also announce a further £556m investment in the Northern Powerhouse.
The
investment will include money for the Goole Intermodal Terminal,
linking rail, sea and road, a conference centre in Blackpool, and a new
innovation fund for businesses in Manchester and Cheshire.
Technical education
Mrs May told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday the new approach would include an overhaul of science and maths education.
"It's about forging and shaping the new future," she said.
Mrs
May said the UK could do more to expand science and innovation, and she
cited advances in battery technology as one area for growth. "Battery
technology - we are leading the way on that already," she said.
She
highlighted plans to boost STEM (science, technology, engineering and
maths) skills, digital skills and numeracy, including extending
specialist maths schools.
However, the University and College
Union (UCU) said investing £170m in creating new institutes of
technology amounted to a "drop in the ocean" and "another set of
gimmicks".
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, which
represents more than 110,000 academics, lecturers, trainers, teachers
and administrative staff, said it was little more than a "relaunched
skills strategy".
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation welcomed the investment, but said low-paid people needed help now.
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