Should the UK have a strategy for semiconductors? This question has come to the fore in response to a series of events – some specific to the UK, others related to global developments – which have moved semiconductors (often referred to as chips or microchips) higher up the political agenda. These include: the current semiconductor shortage, which has severely affected some industries, especially the car makers; the semiconductor war between the US and China; and moves by Chinese companies to acquire European or American producers as a means of accessing semiconductor technology.

The Levelling Up White Paper includes a series of new research, development and innovation investments to strengthen the UK’s science base and to boost economic growth across the whole of the UK. As Professor Richard Jones (who is speaking at Policy Exchange on levelling up R&D next week) has argued, the UK’s research and development base is too small for the size of our economy, is particularly weak in translational research and is too geographically concentrated in already prosperous parts of the country. The publication of the UK R&D roadmap in July 2020 marked  an important first step in addressing these problems; the White Paper is another.

Every day we have to prove that we are who we say are. At present, proving one’s identity online can be cumbersome and difficult in the UK, so citizens often end up sending sensitive documents, such as passports and driving licenses, by post. This report, by Benjamin Barnard, argues that the Government needs to develop better systems to allow people to create and use ‘digital identities’ to prove their identity online, which could prevent billions of pounds of fraud a year.

A UK Advanced Research Projects Agency could have a transformative impact on technological innovation in the UK – but the Government must embrace failure if it is to be a success. Learning lessons from the US, ministers must tear up the rule book of research funding bureaucracy and recognise that the majority of projects will not achieve their objectives, but that those that do will be will be transformational. The key to success will be allowing empowered and highly expert project managers to drive forward projects and allocate funding to the best people and projects wherever they can be found.

Why do 1.23 million people lack access to a bank account? What can be done to help the 10 million people who rely on non-standard credit? How can the Government ensure that everybody gets access to debt and financial advice?

This report, by Benjamin Barnard and Jos Henson Gric, shows how innovations in Financial Technology can improve access to banking, credit, insurance and debt advice services. It shows how the Government can encourage the one of the UK’s most innovative sectors to improve the lives of the poorest in society, particularly those on Universal Credit.

09.30 – 10.30
Policy Exchange Marquee (ENT 1), The ICC, Cambridge Street, B1 2NP