Jeremy Hunt’s statement at Bloomberg opened with a joke about ChatGPT, but any other specific references to tech innovations stopped there. 

While Hunt echoed his goal to turn the UK into the next Silicon Valley, he went into no more specifics than he did in his autumn Statement. 

What We Already Know

Hunt began speaking to statistics that the UK is already very familiar with. 

The UK’s digital technology is a trillion dollar industry, and has more unicorns than France and Germany. 

AI alone could increase UK GDP by up to 10% by 2030, and fintech funding in 2022 was higher than anywhere in the world outside of the US. 

He also mentioned the UK’s leading role in green energy, with the largest offshore wind farm in the world. 

What’s New 

Hunt did say that while he plans on cutting taxes – highlighting his intention to introduce competitive tax rates to attract businesses – he is focused on lowering inflation.

The Chancellor did make one thing a bit more clear in this speech: he’s asking the tech industry for help, with commentators suggesting he should offer initiatives to grow it. 

But intervention is needed in several weak points Hunt mentioned himself: the skills gap is stifling innovation and making security an even greater challenge, and a lack of funding is hurting start-ups from getting launched off the ground. 

While the Chancellor did not go on to address these shortcomings directly, he did outline four priorities to make the UK the next ‘Silicon Valley.’ 

Enterprise

As well as creating a competitive tax environment, the Chancellor intends to use the ‘nimbleness’ allowed by Brexit to create an ‘innovation friendly’ regulatory environment. 

Currently, the UK is yet to decide on their data protection protocols since they split from the EU-wide GDPR. GDRP has continually seen major tech companies face fines for non-compliance. 

Further, the Online Safety Bill, which is still in a draft stage, is continually flipping through different phases of severity for large tech companies who fail to keep their users safe. 

The UK’s post-Brexit landscape may provide more wiggle room for legislation, but currently provides little clarity to foreign tech firms looking to expand or set up shop in the UK. 

He also echoed his pension reforms he hopes will lead to more cash flow that can be invested in research and development. 

Education 

Hunt’s next E is in education, not just for youth, but for all ages. 

The chancellor echoes PM Sunak’s calls for increased English and maths skills for young people, and for opportunities to increase outside of traditional university pathways. 

However, Hunt’s focus was not just on the youth, but on the older generation, many of whom retired during the pandemic. He’s calling on them to return to work to help the UK economy, and stop reliance on immigration for workers. 

Employment 

This plays directly into Hunt’s next priority in Employment. 

Focusing on reskilling the population is a popular initiative – recently a study found that many over 55s would like more technical training to improve their digital skills and job prospects. 

The UK however, is raising the retirement age to 68, meaning that many workers will have little choice but to retrain in order to maintain their jobs for longer. 

Hunt wants to get people back into work, claiming the government will look at “the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.” 

This is while the Conservative government refuses to raise wages for NHS nurses who are currently striking not just for wages but for a better quality of life, as well as rail workers and postal workers joining the fight. 

While the Chancellor wants to work with the major tech companies in attendance, the UK saw its first strike at an Amazon warehouse, and last year saw an Apple Store in Glasgow take strike action – both strikes were part of GMB action. 

The Chancellor’s vague statement provides little clarity to these issues as he neglected to mention any of the strikes in his speech.

Everywhere 

Another priority would be to make the UK economy better everywhere, and not just concentrated in London and the Southeast. 

This announcement follows the major pivot of the UK Digital Growth Grant from TechNation, the non-profit, to Barclay Eagle Labs. 

The departure was claimed to be due to the concentration of TechNation’s efforts on London, but the UK government appears to be taking little notice of TechNations’ recommendations to strengthen support for start ups across the industry. 

Hunt noted that the uneven spread of innovation and business has caused a socially divisive Britain, and claims that this makes levelling up initiatives all the more important. 

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Tech Reacts 

The sentiment of the tech industry in reaction to Hunt’s speech appears to largely be one of disappointment. 

Andrew Megson, CEO of My Pension Expert, said: “Hunt outlined some sound logic in this morning’s speech: we must boot the economy. To boost the economy, businesses must thrive. And for businesses to thrive, inflation must drop. But sadly, 30 minutes of fluff followed. He told those who retired during the pandemic that “Britain needs you”, but he did not explain how he would attract people back into employment – something that still risks undermining the freedom Britons should have to enjoy their hard-earned retirement.

“The Chancellor gave us a lecture, not a plan, saying we must wait for Spring Budgets and Autumn Statements for policies, spending commitments or detailed strategies. There’s no scope for such a rigid approach. Consumers need to clarity now on how the government will tackle economic issues like rising interest rates and double-digit inflation; financial planning is difficult when uncertainty hangs overhead. I would urge the Chancellor to focus on speeches of substance, not sweeping generalities, to help people navigate the challenges that lie ahead of them.”

On a more positive note, Amanda Brock, CEO at OpenUK, agreed with Hunt’s sentiment, but also did not see enough out of the speech, commenting: 

“Britain has every chance of being the next Silicon Valley, if this is managed well – 2023 is a moment in time that must not be allowed to slip. Engaging around education, employment and enterprise is essential if the Government wants to see more high value jobs and more companies that succeed both in this country and internationally. However, understanding the right skills to ensure that the employment investment and GDP contribution needed to fulfil this aspiration is mission critical, and our approach has often missed the target. 

“Building a long term strategy will involve understanding collaboration, communities, and the entrepreneurship needed to step up to be successful internationally. Skilling up to scale up must be nationwide and include the devolved nations and regions.” 

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