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The government must step up efforts to manage the transition to automation, otherwise British businesses could find themselves uncompetitive. So says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in its report Automation and the future of work.
The report considers the UK’s slow place in moving to automation has allowed other countries to forge ahead in leading the fourth industrial revolution. It recommends that the government produces a UK robot and artificial intelligence strategy by the end of 2020.
However, the committee is not in favour of a robot tax, believing it would discourage take up of automation. But it does recommend the government bring forward proposals in the next budget for a new tax incentive to encourage investment, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises, in new technology, such as automation and robotics.
