Budget boost for new-look Manufacturing Advice Service

SUPPORT for manufacturers in the West Midlands is to be retained under a radical overhaul of the Manufacturing Advisory Service announced by the Government today.

When the coalition swept to power last year it announced the immediate abolition of the network of Regional Development Agencies such as Advantage West Midlands and the support structure they had in place.

However, the Government admitted it wanted retain the MAS network as it considered the manufacturing sector was one of the few areas capable of supplying the growth necessary to sustain economic recovery.

The new structure, which will see Wolverhampton become one of four centres in England responsible for delivering the new service, was announced by Business Minister Mark Prisk during a visit to Coventry.

The body is set to have a budget of £57m – more than anticipated – to be delivered over three years.

There will be a number of changes to the existing MAS operation, which is likely to lead to redundancies due to role duplication.

Mr Prisk said the new nationally operated Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) would focus on helping SMEs grow.

The new service will be delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Consortium and the Government said it its aim was to help create £1.5bn in economic growth, 23,000 new jobs and safeguard 50,000 more.   

The Manufacturing Advisory Service will continue to deliver a national service to all manufacturing businesses in England but the new consortium will have a specific focus on driving business growth through strategic and technical support for SMEs developing Advanced Manufacturing capabilities with the purpose of creating high value jobs.

Improving manufacturing supply chains and apprenticeship programmes will also be key.

“Manufacturing contributes half of Britain’s exports and has much higher productivity than the rest of the economy so it is essential to our plans for growth. That is why we are taking steps to ensure our industrial base is thriving as part of a strong and balanced UK economy,” said Mr Prisk.

“Britain has world class manufacturers and the new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) will help them grow and create more outstanding companies with a particular focus on helping SMEs.”

His announcement came during a visit to Arrowsmith Engineering, which supplies the motor sport and aerospace industries and which has seen growth of 20% as a result of support from MAS.

Simon Griffiths, currently chief executive of MAS-WM, will change roles to become MAC Area Director, based at Wolverhampton Science Park.

“MAS is designed to support all manufacturers to retain employment, improve productivity and deliver significant growth to the UK economy,” he said.

“Our proven expertise in delivering advice to growing businesses combined with specialist regional, market and technical knowledge allows us to bring scale, commitment and innovation for entrepreneurship to the future of this programme.”

The Manufacturing Advisory Consortium comprises Grant Thornton, Pera, WM Manufacturing Consortium Ltd and MAS SW Ltd.