Could do better, Darling

Alistair Darling’s

has attracted lukewarm reaction from industry despite a raft of measures aimed at bringing Britain’s engineering excellence to the front of the UK’s economic recovery.

In his Budget report, the chancellor Darling said that support for high-growth businesses in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and renewable energy, would allow the UK to achieve economic growth of 3.5 per cent by 2011.

New funding of £523m will be provided for the offshore wind industry and up to four carbon capture demonstration projects. A further £405m has been earmarked to advance green manufacturing and £760m will be made available to support emerging technologies.

In what Darling described as ‘the world’s first carbon budget’, £435m of extra support will also be made available for energy efficiency projects in homes and buildings as part of government plans to reduce the carbon emissions by 34 per cent in 2020.

Commenting on today's Budget announcement, Gilbert Toppin, chief executive of EEF, said: ‘Given the most difficult economic conditions for a generation, the Chancellor has gone some way towards alleviating the short term pressures facing companies. The measures are helpful though he should have gone further to make a real difference.