June 2020

News 0 6 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk June 2020 Government urged to provide direct support to key strategic sectors and companies The Government is being urged to provide direct support to key strategic manufacturing sectors and companies to ensure their short- term survival through the pandemic, as well remove the current security restrictions on loans, to protect significant numbers of highly skilled jobs and critical supply chains across all regions of the UK. The call was made by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation on the back of the widespread damage being caused to industry by Covid 19 and its latest Manufacturing Monitor published last Friday showing that almost three fifths of manufacturers now believe it will take more than a year for trading conditions to return to normal. According to Make UK, the Government was right to focus on the immediate need to protect individuals and jobs through the Job Retention Scheme. However, moving forward into the recovery phase, Make UK now believes that a more radical approach is needed to protect the internationally competitive position of key strategic sectors and companies which were trading positively before the pandemic. This should include ensuring that companies are able to access capital to service debt incurred to survive the lockdown and be able to grow in the future. In particular, Make UK believes such support should especially be targeted at the Aerospace, Automotive and Steel sectors which have very long supply chains and would therefore also see the benefits. This support would be in line with policies being adopted by Governments to support key sectors in competitor countries. Commenting, Make UK Chief Executive, Stephen Phipson, said: “We are now in such uncharted territory that what would until recently been thought of as unthinkable is now very much the reality. While the support schemes in operation are providing significant support to the economy there are some sectors and companies who are fundamentally sound businesses and were trading positively before the pandemic. Instead, however, they have now been driven to the cliff edge by the nature of this crisis and may not survive without direct Government intervention. “These companies are in key strategic sectors for the UK internationally and provide substantial numbers of highly skilled jobs across the UK and down through their supply chains. Many are also in regions, which would suffer disproportionate economic harm if they did not survive. Government should therefore intervene directly to provide support and ensure their survival. “Furthermore, there are thousands of companies who have had to take on debt to survive through lockdown. Government needs to intervene to ensure they have access to capital not only to be able to service the debt, but also to grow in the future.” Terry Spall CEng, FIMechE has been appointed 135th President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Spall has been a member of the Institution since 1984 and is a long-standing volunteer, serving as a Trustee and most recently as Chief Judge at the Formula Student racing car competition for 5 years. With a background in the car industry in the UK and internationally, he brings a wealth of engineering and business experience to the role. Commenting on his appointment, Spall said: “It’s an exciting and challenging moment to take over the Presidency. This last year we have been working on the governance and finance reviews and how they will be implemented, which has been a massive task. “The results of these reviews will be rolled out over the next year and we will be consulting members on how they would like the Institution to evolve. It is time for change and I’m looking forward to playing a very active role to make that happen.” Encouraging more member involvement in the Institution’s activities and raising the profile of engineering to encourage more young people from a diverse background to consider it as a career are also priorities for this year. Spall has chosen the future of mobility as the theme of his presidency and in his presidential address in the autumn he will look ahead to see what the transport industry may look like: “The automotive industry is going through greatest change it has ever faced, with the challenges and opportunities electrification and automated driving bring. A truly exciting time – but how will all this play out over the next decade?” Terry Spall received his first degree in mechanical engineering in 1985 followed by a MSc in Engineering Programme Management from Lancaster University in 1990. His career has included working at Leyland Trucks, Nissan and most recently at HORIBA MIRA which carries out engineering, research and testing for the automotive sector. Terry led the establishment of MIRA’s overseas operations in seven countries including China and India. Terry Spall appointed President of Institution of Mechanical Engineers