Today, the Chancellor Philip Hammond has outlined his priorities for taxes and spending in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave in the EU in his Autumn Statement. Notably for the technology sector, more than £1bn will be allocated to supporting digital infrastructure and £23bn will be invested over five years via the Productivity Investment Fund.
In response to this, Nicky Stewart, commercial director at UKCloud has made the following comments:
“With Brexit inevitably consuming a significant amount of time and resources, the Government must not take its eye off the ball when it comes to the digital transformation of public services. In this respect, the Chancellor’s first and last Autumn Statement is to be welcomed.
“It is encouraging to see significant sums of money being invested in our digital infrastructure, in recognition of the enormous value the technology sector brings to the economy. As Phillip Hammond points out, multinational giants are eager to invest in the UK; this makes it all the more important that we prioritise investment ourselves. The £23bn Productivity Investment Fund is a particularly positive development. Boosting innovation is vital if we’re to cement the country’s growing reputation as a digital world leader, following the success of the G-Cloud Framework, as a notable example.
“Finally, in our view, the Chancellor’s decision to cut corporation tax to 17% provides an opportunity for our country to show that we are open for business. It’s a strong incentive to make the UK an attractive country to invest in.”