LONDON — The U.K.’s long-awaited semiconductor strategy has been held up again, this time by uncertainty over who will cover Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan’s maternity leave.
While the EU is expected to press ahead with its own Chips Act Tuesday, business leaders are still awaiting the U.K.’s plans. The strategy is seen as crucial amid a global scramble to secure supply chains for semiconductors — used in everything from iPhones to advanced weapons — amid fears about relations with China.
The government has been saying since last year that its strategy for securing semiconductor supply chains will be published “as soon as possible.” The announcement had been penciled into the government news grid for this Thursday, but has been pushed back again.
The strategy has been held until No. 10 and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology decide who will cover maternity leave for Secretary of State Donelan, a Whitehall official told POLITICO. Donelan is due this month but no decision on her replacement has been announced yet. Once they are in place, the government will then decide if her cover will unveil the strategy or if it will be given to someone more senior.
The official said the delay was down to the “optics” of the announcement rather than any wrangling over funding with the Treasury. They said a “ballpark figure” had been agreed, although this is likely to be open to last-minute negotiations.
COVID exposed the world’s reliance on Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers, causing supply issues. The threat of war in Taiwan has made Western governments even more desperate to secure their own supplies. The U.S. powered ahead with its Chips Act last summer offering $52 billion in subsidies for manufacturing.
Negotiating teams from the European Commission, Council and Parliament are coming together tomorrow to hammer out the details of their own multi-billion euro plan.
DSIT has commissioned three feasibility studies which suggest some of the areas the U.K. strategy will focus on. The first looks at how to scale up chip design startups. The second focuses on how to boost production “to enable U.K. businesses in the semiconductor supply chain to develop their manufacturing capability.” The third explores how to fill the skills shortage in the sector.
DSIT has yet to respond to a request for comment.
