Leaders in science and technology in Britain have written to the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, asking him to appoint a Minister for the chemicals industry to help protect areas like Teesside, which they say are at particular risk of decline.
Dame Angela McLean and Lord Browne of Madingly, co-chairs of the Council for Science and Technology, say that chemicals are critical to the UK’s national security, resilience and economy. They underpin essential sectors such as food, healthcare, energy and defence.
“Despite its strategic importance” they write, “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.
Regions at risk
“This poses a particular risk for industrial regions such as Teesside, Humber, Runcorn & 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, say Dame Angela and Lord Browne. But the sector is shaped by international markets, private investment and complex global supply chains, so government cannot secure its future alone.
It should work with industry to unlock investment and innovation, supporting reindustrialisation, protecting critical capabilities, creating skilled jobs and driving growth. This should build on measures such as the Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund.
Dame Angela and Lord Browne recommend the appointment of a minister with accountability for safeguarding the UK’s critical chemical capabilities and delivering future innovation, empowered to coordinate cross-government policy for the chemical sector.
This minister should be responsible for identifying the sector’s role in delivering government priorities and empowered to resolve trade-offs between policies and departments. They would need to work beyond their own department, with a route to Cabinet-level decisions where agreement cannot be reached.
Dame Angela and Lord Browne also recommend that the government should set out a clear long-term roadmap for the UK chemical sector within the next 12 months to provide direction for government, businesses and investors and should include targets for innovation, skills and regulation.
The roadmap 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. It should then work backwards to identify the actions, assets, skills and regulatory conditions needed to deliver those.
The 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;
- 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;
- 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; and
- establish a proportionate regulatory framework that protects people and the environment while supporting innovation and competitiveness.
Revitalise industrial regions
Realising this opportunity will require rigorous analysis, clear choices and sustained delivery, says the letter. The roadmap and any interventions should be underpinned by evidence on the financial case, market dynamics, infrastructure and the sector’s wider dependencies. Together, these actions would provide the clarity and confidence to unlock private investment, revitalise industrial regions, support high-value jobs, and secure the UK’s economic and strategic interests.
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