The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants the government to prioritise investment in innovation and technologies.
In its autumn statement to her Majesty’s Treasury the CBI said that it wants the government to continue working on the Government Digital Services (GDS) highlighting that digitising the “remaining 22% of transactional services will yield savings and transform the way users interact with public services.”
It said: “While full data is not available, based on the GDS’s figures on the 801 transactional services across central government, the CBI estimates that completing the digitisation of these services could save an estimated £800m each year.”
The CBI wants ministers to double the budget for Innovate UK and raise the research and development spend to 3% of GDP.
Director General of CDI, John Cridland, said research carried out by the organisation shows that innovation investment has “never been more important”.
He said: “We must not be complacent while our economy is doing well. We cannot afford to rest on our laurels while our peers pace ahead.
“Instead we need to build on our research excellence by fuelling the UK’s innovation ecosystem with investment, fresh ideas and skills.
“With the UK’s research and development spending the lowest among the G8, we are falling behind our international competitors and must take action so we can lead from the front.”