UK manufacturers plan increase in investment

UK manufacturers intend to invest more money over the next two years, according to a survey from manufacturers' lobby group the EEF.

It said the move came as businesses sought to improve productivity.

The survey, external of 750 firms, said a third believed the UK was a more competitive place to invest than two years ago.

But the organisation warned the economic health of European partners was one of the biggest external risks to future investment.

The EEF survey said the industrial policies of the previous government had helped to improve conditions in manufacturing, which represents about 10% of the UK economy.

It called on the recently elected Conservative government to remain supportive.

Lee Hopley, the EEF's chief economist, said: "UK manufacturers' ongoing commitments to invest in technology, skills and innovation provide positive signals about the sector's future growth and productivity prospects."

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics, external (ONS) earlier this year showed UK labour productivity fell 0.2% in the last three months of 2014. That meant productivity last year remained "little changed" on 2013.

The ONS figures also found the productivity of the UK workforce remains slightly lower than in 2007, marking an "unprecedented" absence of growth since World War Two.