techUK welcomed the opportunity to feed into Phase 2 of the Government’s multi-year Spending Review.
2025 represents a pivotal moment for the United Kingdom and its economy. The decisions made during this multi-year Spending Review will shape the course for the rest of this Parliament and the decade. techUK recognise the challenging fiscal position that the Government currently faces. However, by doubling down on digitisation of the economy, this is a crucial opportunity to achieve productivity gains, drive higher business investment and growth, and secure the UK’s position as a leader in emerging domestic tech markets.
In the Autumn Budget and Phase 1 of the Spending Review, techUK was pleased to see the Chancellor act on recommendations from techUK’s Growth Plan. These measures will help drive business investment and productivity increases in the medium term. They include improving technology adoption in public services through clear targets, encouraging digital adoption in SMEs through new pilots, and protecting the UK’s R&D budget.
There are reasons to be optimistic. The upgrading of the UK’s IMF growth prospects in 2025 shows the UK is moving in the right direction, and the UK has strong fundamentals on tech as well. As outlined in our Growth Plan, and response to the Industrial Strategy, the Government can harness the potential of tech and digitisation to achieve its five missions, including securing the highest sustained growth in the G7. This is a sector now valued at over $1.1 trillion and already transforming daily lives, businesses, sectors, and public services.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan also marked a step in the right direction. The Plan is comprehensive in scope and, if executed, could spark a ‘quiet AI revolution’ in how the Government and business operate. AI alone could boost UK GDP by £550 billion by 2035.4 The Prime Minister has also recognised that ‘artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation’.
But there is now a fierce global race over the key technologies that will shape the future. From AI and Quantum to green technologies, competition between governments to attract talent, grow clusters of innovative technology companies, and be the first to deploy revolutionary digital public services has never been greater. These future technologies do not just offer to increase growth but will make working life easier and more rewarding across the economy, improving the quality of life of workers who use these technologies. In this global race for the future, the UK has many of the building blocks, including a robust regulatory system and rule of law, already in place to succeed and address potential risks. But our success must not breed complacency.
Despite more positive news for the UK growth, the Autumn Budget’s heavy tax rises on businesses will have an immediate impact. This sentiment was reflected in techUK’s member snap reaction survey, where most respondents rated the Budget as having a negative impact on their business.
Failing to seize the moment risks resurrecting familiar challenges: underinvestment undermining the UK’s international competitiveness, deepening regional inequalities, reducing living standards, and jeopardising progress toward the Government’s tech ambition. As we look back on this decade in 2035, it should be remembered as a time of bold and decisive action.
To achieve these aims, the Government must continue to forge a collaborative partnership with the UK tech sector, working together to swiftly address structural barriers that hinder technological development and deployment across the economy and public services. The modern industrial strategy presents an opportunity for this. Such a strategy must ensure ongoing efforts through the cross-Government review of tech adoption, 10-Year infrastructure Strategy and AI Opportunities Action Plan are consistent and make the most use of public finances to deliver return on investment for taxpayers.
Our response is framed through the following priority areas:
Digital and tech adoption to support growth sectors: ensuring digital tech can be adopted across all businesses and sectors of the economy. Utilisation of digital tools could save SMEs the equivalent of multiple working weeks annually, and up to 1.2 hours per week per worker.
This starts with long-term funding package for practical interventions like the Made Smarter Adoption Programme across the identified growth-driving sectors, creating headroom and certainty for all businesses to adopt digital technology.
Enabling the delivery of effective and efficient public services: leveraging the role of digital and tech adoption, including transformative productivity and efficiency increases, for public services. According to research, if AI is rolled out effectively across public services, it could save the UK’s public sector over £17 billion by 2035 - roughly half of what the UK currently spends on defence each year.
This starts with delivering the AI Opportunities Action Plan and outlining a roadmap and funding for implementing the accepted recommendations, with timelines and metrics for success. Along with allocating adequate funding to address legacy technology in public services.
Creating a pro-business environment: supporting the skills development, infrastructure, tax environment and regulation to underpin the sector to overcome barriers and invest. For instance, HMRC reports that every £1 of tax forgone through R&D tax relief results in up to £2.70 of additional investment in R&D by UK companies.
This starts with setting out a front-loaded spending profile for R&D to reach 3% of GDP by the end of this Parliament.
Place-based support to create a dynamic tech ecosystem: unlock the potential of all regions of the UK through the transformative effects the tech sector can bring, including by developing tech clusters.
This starts with launching a review into the use of SIC codes to capture the true shape of the digital economy and providing funding certainty to deliver on the modern industrial strategy.
Our response aligns with the upcoming modern Industrial Strategy and HM Treasury’s call for the multi-year spending review to focus on areas of effectiveness, value for money, support for growth, sectoral impacts and locational impacts. We note that clear prioritisation is integral. Therefore, techUK, on behalf of our members, makes a strong strategic case for spending and policies that we believe will deliver on the Government’s missions.
To further ensure delivery, techUK follow the Institute for Government and NAO in calling for the Government to commission ongoing ‘Dutch-style’ reviews of policy between spending reviews to ensure building the evidence base is a continuous process.
Summary of top techUK recommendations:
Government mission
techUK recommendation
Expected impact and growth benefit over SR period
Growing the economy
Commit to the ambition for total R&D spending to reach 3% of GDP by the end of Parliament.
Provide funding certainty for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support the delivery of the modern Industrial Strategy.
UKSPF enables local authorities to have flexibility to invest across a range of activities that represent the right solutions for their areas.
Growing the economy and opportunities for all
Ringfence funding to pilot, and rollout, measures for SMEs digitisation. This will shore up UK SMEs to be digitally confident and take advantage of emerging technologies like AI.
The OBR has predicted that the widespread use of AI technology could support raising productivity by half a percentage point by 2028/29.
Growing the economy
Begin delivering the AI opportunities action plan by outlining a roadmap and funding for implementing the accepted Government recommendations. This should also include timelines and metrics for assessing success.
According to research, if AI is rolled out effectively across public services, it could save the UK’s public sector over £17 billion by 2035. The increasing prevalence of AI in people’s working lives opens up new opportunities rather than just threatens traditional patterns of work.
Growing the economy
Address legacy technology in critical services, assigning appropriate funding to manage legacy technology and co-ordinate transformation. This is a vital foundation to realise plans to use AI more in public service delivery
Modern systems can be scaled to handle increased demand, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Growing the economy
Launch a review into the use of SIC codes to capture the true shape of the digital economy.
Government programmes and funding often target specific industries. Updated SIC codes can help ensure that resources are allocated more effectively to the sectors that need them most
Growing the economy
HMRC resources should be channeled into improving the effectiveness of existing digital services and delivery of flagship digital economy programmes.
Extend the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) with a funding pot equivalent to current phases until 2030.
The Fund targets existing industrial processes, helping industry to cut energy bills by investing in more efficient technologies and reducing emissions by adopting transformational low carbon technologies.
techUK, on behalf of our members, look forward to continuing to work with the Government to deliver a modern industrial strategy, placing digital tech at the heart of this. Doing so will enable delivery on the central mission to achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7. This is also a crucial moment to send clear signals that the UK intends to invest in the industries that will define the next decade of the digital economy.
techUK Growth Plan
A plan to drive economic growth by leveraging the tech sector, the UK’s modern economic success story.
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Tech Policy Conference 10 March
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Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Antony Walker is deputy CEO of techUK, which he played a lead role in launching in November 2013.
Antony is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for techUK’s policy work. Prior to his appointment in July 2012 Antony was chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s independent advisory group on broadband policy. Antony was closely involved in the development of broadband policy development in the UK since the BSG was established in 2001 and authored several major reports to government. He also led the development of the UK’s world leading Open Internet Code of Practice that addresses the issue of net neutrality in the UK. Prior to setting up the BSG, Antony spent six years working in Brussels for the American Chamber of Commerce following and writing about telecoms issues and as a consultant working on EU social affairs and environmental issues. Antony is a graduate of Aberdeen University and KU Leuven and is also a Policy Fellow Alumni of the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University.
As Head of Public Affairs, Alice supports techUK’s strategic engagement with Westminster, Whitehall and beyond. She regularly works to engage with ministers, members of the UK’s parliaments and senior civil servants on techUK’s work advocating for the role of technology in the UK’s economy as well as wider society.
Alice joined techUK in 2022. She has experience working at both a political monitoring company, leading on the tech, media and telecoms portfolio there, and also as an account manager in a Westminster-based public affairs agency. She has a degree from the University of Sheffield in Politics and Philosophy.
Edward leads the Digital Economy programme at techUK, which includes our work on online safety, fraud, and regulation for growth initiatives.
He has prior experience working for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and has previously worked for a number of public affairs consultancies specialising in research and strategy, working with leading clients in the technology and financial services sectors.
Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Regulation at techUK.
With over six years of Government Affairs expertise, Samiah has built a solid reputation as a tech policy specialist, engaging regularly with UK Government Ministers, senior civil servants and UK Parliamentarians.
Before joining techUK, Samiah led several public affairs functions for international tech firms and coalitions at Burson Global (formerly Hill & Knowlton), delivering CEO-level strategic counsel on political, legislative, and regulatory issues in the UK, EU, US, China, India, and Japan. She is adept at mobilising multinational companies and industry associations, focusing on cross-cutting digital regulatory issues such as competition, artificial intelligence, and more.
She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of London, where she founded the New School Economics Society, the Goldsmiths University chapter of Rethinking Economics.
Audre joined techUK in July 2023 as a Policy Manager for Data. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor in the Civil Service, where she worked on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and at HM Treasury on designing COVID-19 support schemes and delivering the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Before that, Audre worked at a public relations consultancy, advising public and private sector clients on their communications, public relations, and government affairs strategy.
Prior to this, Audre completed an MSc in Public Policy at the Korea Development Institute and a Bachelor's in International Relations and History from SOAS, University of London. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, learning about new cultures through travel and food, and going on adventures.
Mia focuses on shaping a policy environment that fosters the expansion of the UK tech sector while maximising the transformative potential of technology across all industries.
Prior to joining techUK, Mia worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) within the Policy Unit.
Mia holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester and a BA(Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Archie Breare joined techUK in September 2022 as the Telecoms Programme intern, and moved into the Policy and Public Affairs team as the Team Assistant in February 2023 and as Public Affairs Manager in September 2023
Before starting at techUK, Archie was a student at the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in History and a master's degree in Modern British History.
In his spare time, he likes to read, discuss current affairs, and to try and persuade himself to cycle more.
Oliver is the team assistant for the Policy and Public Affairs teams, joining techUK in November of 2023. He assists the teams admistrative support, communication, and event production.
Prior to working at techUK, Oliver studied at Swansea and Bristol universities, attaining a masters in Policy Research. During this time he competed in debating competitions around the country where he discussed and deliberated various policy issues. Between his studies Oliver acted as a student assistant in mental health research for the SMaRteN student network.
