UK is a global tech leader

 Hammond’s moves to make UK global tech leader

In his Budget, the Chancellor announced a new £500m tech innovation fund to invest in artificial intelligence, 5G, and full fibre broadband to boost tech start-ups. There will also be further investment to expand Tech City UK nationwide, turning it into Tech Nation, which will create regional hubs in Cambridge, Bristol, Bath, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Reading, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, and Cardiff. A Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation will be created to set standards for the use and ethics of AI and data while early stage video game developers will gain access to finance and business support from an extra £1m for the UK Games Fund until 2020. Philip Hammond also announced a one percentage point increase in R&D tax credits to 12%, a relief expected to cost £755m by 2022-23.

Source: The Daily Telegraph (23/11/2017)