IChemE responds to the Chancellor’s spring statement
27th March 2025
In response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, Andrew Foster, Director, Strategic Partnerships and Impact at IChemE commented:
“In her statement, the Chancellor said the £2 billion increase in capital spending – primarily on defence – would create demand for highly skilled engineers and scientists. For the Government to see the most value from this investment, the workforce has to be in place to deliver it.”
“Chemical engineers, and the wider STEM workforce, are crucial to developing and implementing the new technologies the Chancellor outlined for defence. While there is a demand for highly skilled engineers and scientists, at the moment we simply don’t have enough of them.”
“The evolving defence landscape is an important reminder of why developing the STEM workforce, and chemical engineers in particular, needs to be given particular strategic focus by the Government. We hope to see more of the Government’s plans in this area taking shape in the forthcoming spending review and industrial strategy.”
Contact
For more information please contact:
Duncan Lugton, Head of Policy and Impact, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 578214
e: dlugton@icheme.org
Press enquiries:
Patrick Ball or Ian Bolland, Stone Junction
t: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e: patrick@stonejunction.co.uk or ian@stonejunction.co.uk
What is chemical engineering?
Chemical, biochemical and process engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics in the process of turning raw materials into everyday, and more specialist, products. Professional chemical engineers design, construct and manage process operations all over the world. Energy, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, synthetic fibres and clean drinking water are just some of the industry sectors and products where chemical engineering plays a central role.
IChemE
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) advances chemical engineering's contribution for the benefit of society. We facilitate the development of chemical engineering professionals and provide connections to a powerful network of around 30,000 members in more than 100 countries.
We support our members in applying their expertise and experience to make an influential contribution to solving major global challenges, and are the only organisation permitted to award Chartered Chemical Engineer status and Professional Process Safety Engineer registration.