techUK, business representatives and trade bodies, publish open letter calling on the Government for better SME digitisation support
techUK, alongside business representatives and trade bodies, have published an open letter, calling on the Government to boost growth through better SME digitisation support. This letter was sent to the Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade and the Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Ahead of the upcoming Budget and Global Investment Summit, the UK has a chance to turbocharge its digitisation offer needed to drive investment.
AI is projected to boost UK GDP by up to 10.3% by 2030 and bring huge benefits for UK businesses with better productivity and efficiency gains. However, it will first be deployed through updates to business software already in use, meaning that if UK businesses are behind on basic digital adoption, they will soon be behind on AI adoption.
Better support for SME digitisation is something the Government can get started on right away with practical interventions. We propose:
- First, appoint a single Minister with responsibility for driving digitisation across the economy.
- Second, deliver a comprehensive digital adoption plan with clearly defined targets by 2030.
- Third, as previously advocated by techUK, the CBI and FSB, expand the Made Smarter Adoption programme to all sectors of the economy.
Industry is already leading the way in supporting SMEs to digitise and stand ready to support the Government in their mission to grow the economy, whilst placing digital technology at the heart of delivery on this.
Thank you to our signatories:
- Julian David, CEO, techUK
- Naomi Weir, Director of Innovation, CBI (Confederation of British Industry)
- Clare Elsby, Policy Champion for Innovation and Technology, FSB (Federation of Small Business)
- Emma Jones, Founder, Enterprise Nation
- Ciaran Quilty, Senior Vice President, International, Intuit
- Steve Hare, CEO, Sage
- Alexander von Schirmeister, Managing Director, UK and Emerging Markets, Xero
Neil Ross
Neil Ross
As Associate Director for Policy Neil leads on techUK's public policy work in the UK. In this role he regularly engages with UK and Devolved Government Ministers, senior civil servants and members of the UK’s Parliaments aiming to make the UK the best place to start, scale and develop a tech business.
Neil joined techUK in 2019 to lead on techUK’s input into the UK-EU Brexit trade deal negotiations and economic policy. Alongside his role leading techUK's public policy work Neil also acts as a spokesperson for techUK often appearing in the media and providing evidence to a range of Parliamentary committees.
In 2023 Neil was listed by the Politico newspaper as one of the '20 people who matter in UK tech' and has regularly been cited as a key industry figure shaping UK tech policy.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Twitter:
- @neil13r
- Website:
- www.techuk.org/
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilross13/
Mia Haffety
Mia Haffety
Mia joined techUK in September 2023.
Mia works to ensure that the UK policy and regulatory environment promote investment into the tech sector, recognising the role of digital and emerging technology towards future growth and productivity.
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.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/miahaffety/
Samiah Anderson
Samiah Anderson
Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Economy at techUK, overseeing the Digital Economy programme, which promotes how the UK digital economy and innovation can drive sustained economic growth.
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.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.techuk.org,www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/samiahnanderson/