Ceramics UK brings industry priorities to Parliament

Ceramics UK welcomed the Minister for Reindustrialisation, Blair McDougall MP, to the latest meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ceramics (APPG).

The meeting brought together MPs and industry representatives to discuss the pressures facing UK ceramic manufacturers and the conditions needed to support a competitive domestic industry.

Industry representatives James Roper of Churchill China, Emily Landsborough of Ibstock PLC and Cathryn Hickey of AMRICC helped provide perspectives from across the sector, covering both traditional manufacturing and advanced and technical ceramics.

Discussions also focused on the Government’s £120 million ceramics support scheme, including how funding could be delivered quickly and made accessible to SMEs.

Rachel Timmins, Ceramics UK Policy Manager, said:

“Yesterday’s APPG meeting was an important opportunity to set out the very real challenges facing our members and to reinforce what the sector needs to remain competitive.

“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss how the £120 million ceramics support scheme could work in practice. MPs raised important questions around how quickly companies will be able to benefit and how accessible the scheme will be for SMEs.”

Ceramics UK thanks APPG Chair Gareth Snell MP, the Group’s officers and all parliamentarians and industry representatives who contributed to the discussion.

Ceramics UK will continue working with Government and policymakers to make the case for the conditions UK ceramic manufacturers need to invest, compete and grow.