Recommendations to support the UK chemical sector
The Council for Science and Technology are presenting recommendations for the chemical sector in the UK.
The council has underlined in a letter to the UK Government that the chemicals sector underlines critical aspects of the UK economy, such as healthcare, energy and defence.
The main signatories were Dame Angela McLean and Lord Browne of Madingley.
Despite this stated position within the economy, the letter warned ‘the chemical sector is in long-term decline’.
‘High energy costs, ageing infrastructure and under-investment in innovation are global issues. In the UK, these are compounded by regulatory complexity, policy instability, and the absence of a long-term strategy. Crucially, responsibility is often fragmented across departmental agendas which do not align to support the sector.
‘This poses a particular risk for industrial regions such as Teesside, Humber, Runcorn and Widnes, and Grangemouth, where the sector creates prosperity. These clusters have valuable assets, including skilled workforces and strong research capabilities, which underpin nationally important supply chains.
‘With the right conditions, these assets could support a more competitive, innovative and greener sector, creating high-value jobs across the country.’
They have made two recommendations to help create these conditions:
- Appoint a minister with accountability for safeguarding the UK’s critical chemical capabilities and delivering future innovation. Empower them to coordinate cross-government policy for the chemical sector.
- Government should set out a clear long-term roadmap for the UK chemical sector within the next 12 months. It should define the national outcomes the UK needs to secure (including food security, healthcare, clean energy, defence, critical infrastructure, industrial competitiveness and environmental protection), and the chemical capabilities and supply chains needed for resilience in 2035
Government should address five priorities though the roadmap:
- Define the chemical capabilities and supply chains the UK needs for national security, resilience and growth, identifying where domestic capability is essential and where diversified international supply, strategic partnerships, stocks or substitution can reliably meet needs. This should build upon analysis of critical chemicals already started by BIST.
- Assess the viability of these capabilities, including their dependencies on energy, feedstocks, infrastructure, skills, finance, regulation and international markets, and make strategic choices about interventions. This should include careful assessment of the role of European partners.
- Set a credible transition pathway to a competitive, lower-carbon and more circular industry, which considers energy and carbon costs, sustainable feedstocks, existing assets and the infrastructure and skills needed.
- Create the conditions for innovation and investment by building on UK scientific strengths and improving access to finance, investment and shared infrastructure to support the next generation of technologies to scale in the UK.
- Establish a proportionate regulatory framework that protects people and the environment while supporting innovation and competitiveness. Government must work to reduce UK-EU market-access frictions, and provide clarity on its plans for UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) without delay.
