Monday 21 May 2018

Thoughts on The Industrial Strategy and The "Grand Challenges" PM May Speech


Industrial Strategy: Grand Challenge Missions: Is it such a grand vision for a potential Post-Brexit Britain??

Today PM May unveiled the Government's new approach towards the facilitation of an Industrial Strategy for the UK, one which the PM and others within the Conservative sphere of political influence believe will address some of the key issues affecting people living in the UK today. The 4 Grand Challenges highlighted are meant to be solved with core British industrial sectors being at the centre of each plan with the implication being that encouraging further innovation in these sectors now will lead to a higher quality of life in the future. PM May, in her speech at Jodrell Bank certainly sung the praises of the UK research and development community: “We are ranked first in the world for research into the defining technologies of the next decade, from genomics and synthetic biology, to robots and satellites” (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-on-science-and-modern-industrial-strategy-21-may-2018). The Government has already made a commitment of 2.4% of the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) going on research and development by 2027, equivalent to an extra £80bn-certainly ambitious. PM May was also right to highlight the need to ensure regulation does not stifle innovation and creativity (wherever possible) and I was glad to hear her reiterate the fact that scientific research can be “a noble pursuit and public good whether or not it leads directly to a commercial application” but I hope that would equally apply to Arts based research, something totally missing from her speech today.

The 4 Grand Challenges are briefly outlined below:

  1. Artificial Intelligence and data
The Tories believe that it should be a key mission of Parliament to “use data, Artificial Intelligence and innovation to transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases (e.g. dementia, cancer, diabetes) by 2030”. They estimate that better use of AI technology and medical data could lead to “over 50,000 more people each year having their cancers diagnosed at an early rather than late stage” so that 20,000 fewer people dying with 5 years of receiving their diagnosis. Early diagnosis of ovarian, prostate and lung cancers will save lives and this mission will have broad cross-party appeal but will involve investment in equipment and personnel expertise over the next 10 years to come to fruition, which will need to come partly from an increase in government expenditure on science and innovation and health. It'd be great if some Lincolnshire organisations will become involved in this area and receive direct investment to expand to fulfill research demands. It's also important that NHS data is accessible to help with the creation of algorithms that can be used by GPs although I am sceptical about allowing private companies to use NHS data to make for-profit products (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/20/may-to-pledge-millions-to-ai-research-assisting-early-cancer-diagnosis).

  1. Ageing society
The Tories have set a mission target of people enjoying “at least 5 extra, healthy, independent years of life by 2035” whilst also narrowing the gap between the richest and poorest people. This will again require significant investment in social care provision to allow people with physical and learning disabilities to live independently in their homes, as well as older people whose physical health may have declined for example due to arthritis. One cannot deny the social care system is already under strain and is facing a £1.5bn shortfall by 2020. Lincolnshire is going to take part in a £1m pilot project alongside Nottinghamshire to help improve the service provided (to ensure that every user of adult social care will have a joint health and social care assessment and care plan) over the next 2 years https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/lincolnshire-take-part-1m-scheme-1363212. Lincolnshire County Council voted to add 2% to council tax bills to pay for social care which came into effect in April but that increase will not help to offset funding challenges forever. Current funding plans suggested by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt, which will mean means-tests for personal home care as well as residential care will include taking the value of homes into account have been branded “costly and unfair” in a joint report by the Kings Fund and the Health Foundation (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/16/social-care-funding-plans-branded-costly-and-unfair). The report argues there should be a cap of £75,000 on the total amount one person will need to pay for care. Another recently published report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), states that the Government is significantly underestimating the challenges the social care sector is currently facing, with care packages having to be prioritized and packages which support older people who have falls taking longer to put together. Age UK has already stated that 1.2m older people in the UK have unmet social care needs (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/social-care-elderly-disabilities-brexit-government-mps-japan-a8341611.html). There is also a challenge to safeguard the welfare of care workers, who are among the lowest paid workers in the UK and whose self-esteem levels are lower than that of other workers within the healthcare sector (http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/05/15/adult-social-care-staff-suffering-low-pay-esteem-report-says/). We'll wait to see the Green Paper on Social Care in the summer for updated details.

Community organisations who develop intergenerational projects to reduce levels of social isolation and loneliness and thus reduce potential for people to develop depression or other long-term mental health conditions need to have access to sustainable funding pots at local authority level and not just rely on donations and community foundations for support. I agree in principle with the idea of developing strategies to help older people access a wide variety of workplace opportunities beyond the official age of retirement as I believe in the principle of creating a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. But I think it's a mistake to purely focus on this and on the development of consumer products and services offered primarily by private sector businesses. Our social carers and care home providers need support to deliver high-quality care to clients and that is where I feel money needs to be spent urgently through increases to local authority budgets and to NHS Trust budgets where there are a high number of patients over the age of 65. That would include East Lindsey which is ranked 2nd highest in the UK for the highest number of carers caring for 50 hours or more per week and has the highest proportion of people aged over 65 in the UK (http://www.research-lincs.org.uk/jsna-Carers.aspx). We need to ensure sufficient support is provided to carers of all ages to help improve mental health wellbeing. 6.5m people currently care for an elderly, ill or disabled relative. Lincolnshire has one of the fastest growing rates of carers (a 27.5% increase was recorded between 2001 and 2015 when the UK general rate was 6.2%) and the number of people aged 65 and over in Lincolnshire is projected to increase by 25% by 2022. 84,000 carers have been recorded as living in Lincolnshire according to the Joints Strategic Needs Assessment for Lincolnshire on Carers: http://www.research-lincs.org.uk/jsna-Carers.aspx. Innovative strategies should help reduce physical and emotional pressures on them as well as on the person/people that need to be cared for. Yet Lincolnshire County Council are looking to make savings (i.e. reduce) the Carers budget by £0.415m in this financial year and a further £0.0075m in 2019/20 due to reductions in funding (https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/local-democracy/how-the-council-works/finances/budgets-and-financial-strategy/lincolnshire-county-council-budget-2018/19/132217.article).

  1. Clean growth
The Tories have stated a commitment to a target of a 50% reduction in the energy use of new buildings by 2030 in the hope of reducing energy bills for public sector organisations, businesses and families. They aim to do this by ensuring new buildings use “clean heating”, encouraging the development of “innovative techniques” to reduce carbon emissions and introducing even smarter technology to help consumers control their energy use. The money to support the fulfillment of the target is coming from a £170m Transforming Construction Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and anticipate that this will be matched by a £250m investment from the private sector.

It's also great to hear that the Government will be encouraging organisations to explore how housing alterations can be made to improve the lives of older people who currently live in unadapted housing. The Centre for Better Ageing report Room to improve: The role of home adaptions in improving later life found that more than 90% of older people live in mainstream housing but providing adaptations such as providing wet rooms on ground floors, stair-lifts or even basic adaptations like hand-rails and monitoring equipment to help people living with dementia can make a difference in helping to prevent falls (a 26% reduction in falls that need medical attention and savings of £500m a year for the NHS and Social Care systems) as well as improving mental health (https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2017-12/Room%20to%20improve.%20The%20role%20of%20home%20adaptations%20in%20improving%20later%20life.pdf).

  1. Future of mobility
Once again the Tories have centred the motor vehicles industry within their plans for Post-Brexit Britain, with a commitment to “Putting the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles with all new cars and vans effectively zero emission by 2040” (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-the-grand-challenges/missions). This is all well and good in that it will probably help reduce carbon emissions but I am sceptical as to whether voters want to see taxpayers' money invested in electric vehicle companies when the Government is not investing enough money into social care or youth services or even existing travel services. That being said I agree that it is prudent to invest some money towards innovation in this area -e.g. providing £1bn over 10 years to develop low carbon powertrains (provided there are trains created for use on East Midlands journeys) and grants to help early-adopters to buy ultra low-emission vehicles.

Overarching Thoughts:

I guess I consider myself a sceptic when it comes to the delivery of promises, especially by this particular Government. I am concerned that the targets will not be met without developing truly holistic strategies involving organisations from different sectors, not just the science and research sector or construction and motor vehicle sectors. Encouraging conversations that lead to collaborations to address key challenges will drive change at a local level.

The Government's focus on Technical Skills to boost talent is welcome but we must not promote such skills at the expense of creative arts subjects in schools and colleges. Rigorous Science GCSE's are all well and good but there will need to be tailored support in schools to help students who might struggle to achieve a Grade C at GCSE. I remember having to work extremely hard to remember the scientific concepts and terminology for GCSE Applied Science and that my Physics based papers would always come back at Grade D no matter how hard I tried. If it wasn't for the determination of my Science teacher to provide extra Biology and Chemistry lessons I would not have achieved a Grade B. I understand why the Government wishes to promote Science A-Levels and put more money into attracting science graduates through offering tax-free bursaries but they must remember that innovation doesn't just come from those who study scientific subjects at school.

With Brexit impending, it is vital that researchers from the EU involved in industries across the UK, not just in the science and technological industrial sectors feel they can enjoy the exact same benefits of living in the UK post-Brexit as they do currently. PM May is right to highlight the amazing contributions that researches from around the world have made to improve our quality of life. Yet some EU researchers have decided to leave the UK following the Brexit vote: in January it was reported that there had been a 19%  increase in the level of departures of EU staff compared to before the EU referendum (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-uk-university-eu-academics-resign-immigration-brexodus-citizens-europe-a8143796.html) so it's important that PM May makes it clear their status will remain unchanged under the current terms of the Brexit deal. I also think that paying for membership of existing EU research programmes, including Horizon 2020 and future programmes is important and that this financial contribution has been mutually agreed with all EU member states. The UK cannot just pluck a number out of thin air and then stick to it rigidly or walk away as the ultra Brexiteers like Jacob Rees-Mogg would have us do.

A progressive, liberal vision for the UK would for me be one where we had decided not to leave the EU. However, a Brexit where a deep partnership with the EU on research and development, including arts and social research is vital in helping us to continue to innovate and improve overall quality of life in the UK. Yes we should be excited at the prospect of change driven by innovation, whether you fit into PM May's definition of being “curious...inventive and determined” or not because the UK's been a hub for innovation for hundreds of years. Yet a top-down approach to innovation, driven only by those with expertise in specific fields will not work. We all have a part to play in this, regardless of qualifications or type of job that we do. Carers can be innovative in the way they engage with their clients, care homes can put on social activities with the help of enthusiastic volunteers, community organisations can look at creating intergenerational projects, using recent research to guide practice and administrative assistants can look at ways to promote office exercise or hold meetings to talk about building emotional resilience. Research can also be conducted at a local level by volunteers who want to look at tackling levels of anxiety/stress caused by social isolation and could work with organisations to help fund and promote such research. 

PM May wants her Government to work towards achieving 4 ambitious targets designed to help transform the lives of people living in the UK. Time will tell whether Brexit, if pursued will inhibit chances of achieving those ambitious targets.

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