The problem here is that government is all about Sound Bites, Position Statements and Virtue Signaling.  The government wishes the UK to become a global leader in semiconductor technology. They have put three quite different but not necessarily mutually exclusive goals.

- Grow the domestic sector (Industry is important)

- Mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions (local supply or better supply chain management)

- Protect our national security (control the IP)

All these require significant engineering solutions but current government contains no engineering.

As I have previously said here regarding Green solutions:

https://engx.theiet.org/f/discussions/29789/how-can-we-develop-an-effective-sustainable-energy-strategy-that-also-ensures-a-just-transition

These goals need to be looked at like Capital Expenditure Requests in industry:

- What is the objective?

- What is the background to this request?

- What is the proposed solution?

- What are the time scales?

- What resources are required?

- What is the cost?

- What is the payback or other justification?

- What are the alternatives?

- Why were they rejected?

All these points need to be supported with data and calculations.

Without sufficient STEM resources in government to answer these questions nothing will actually happen. The challenge for the IET is to get STEM into government.

Sorry, Roger, didn't see your post before I sent my reply to Mike. Thanks for posting - they are all good questions!

Agree - there are too many arts graduates and not enough folk who understand when to use complex numbers or a Bessel function in the teams advising government policy. That would be forgivable, if they actually  realised there was something important they did not know, and were prepared to 'phone a friend' instead of just bluster. But no, it all runs on the hoof.

A classic example of innumeracy must be the Wales 20mph speed limit - apparently the 88million cost will be borne by the Welsh govt. says the news. That is presumably the cost  of roadsigns and enforcement. But overlooks the far bigger cost that some folk on the road, perhaps half, are not just driving for fun, and are being paid wages to get somewhere.
Even if we assume these folk only earn minimum wage, and that is not true, as some like doctors and engineers and business types will be in the 'pound a minute' category then say 5 million drivers (it is Wales after all) even at a cost of just 10p a minute per driver of potentially productive working time lost,  (yes, that really is £500k per minute lost) now even assuming only 2-3 minutes added to every hour of driving will cost that £88 million to the Welsh economy over and over every few days. (and if you think a life is worth £1 to £2 million or so, then you need to save one life every few minutes to justify that loss. There are not enough people living in Wales to knock over to manage that let alone enough being killed at 30mph now)

Clearly no mathematicians on that team either.

Mike.

The fact is that Government just wants the Economic Contribution (That's the Economic-Productivity) of this sector to grow. It knows nothing about how big it is at present, or how it works ... and doesn't really want (or need?) to know, to know it wants it to be bigger. Politicians really are of the opinion that all they have to do is 'pronounce something' and they are so important and powerful, that it then comes to pass. You (we) have to remember that Politicians are our chosen representatives, they are typical by definition. The typical person has no understanding of how anything works (financial, biological, engineering, mathematical, scientific) ... but they know that 'things do happen'. New products benefiting society emerge all the time ... as if by magic. So it is quite logical to them that as powerful people, if they express a societal need, then magically, it will come about. The Emperor has no clothes!

The fact is that Government just wants the Economic Contribution (That's the Economic-Productivity) of this sector to grow. It knows nothing about how big it is at present, or how it works ... and doesn't really want (or need?) to know, to know it wants it to be bigger. Politicians really are of the opinion that all they have to do is 'pronounce something' and they are so important and powerful, that it then comes to pass. You (we) have to remember that Politicians are our chosen representatives, they are typical by definition. The typical person has no understanding of how anything works (financial, biological, engineering, mathematical, scientific) ... but they know that 'things do happen'. New products benefiting society emerge all the time ... as if by magic. So it is quite logical to them that as powerful people, if they express a societal need, then magically, it will come about. The Emperor has no clothes!