Manufacturing's spending review wish list

The manufacturers' organisation, EEF, has set out its key priorities as: * Improving support for applied research by putting science and innovation spending together in a combined ring-fence * Supporting employers that are investing in apprenticeships by resting moves to push the cost of apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds or lower level skills on to employers * Building on recent efforts to transform the UK's export performance by protecting recent increases in funding for UKTI * Prioritising investment in the road network, prioritising projects in the infrastructure pipeline that don't have funding or addressing the backlog in local road maintenance EEF added that the review must also "take action to address the growing concerns over rising energy prices, not just for energy-intensive industries but for a growing band of manufacturers, facing costs that are out of line with their competitors".