An inquiry into whether the UK needs to work more closely with the EU, as well as Japan and the USA, to deal with the global shortage of semiconductors has been launched by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
Announcing the inquiry, the Parliamentary Committee highlighted how the semiconductor shortage has impacted the production of the BMW made Mini and the PlayStation 5.
“Semiconductors are growing in technological and geopolitical importance,” said Committee Chair Darren Jones. “With scarce global supply, it’s essential that we conduct a stock take of the UK’s capacity and what the Government can do to raise it.”
The Committee noted that manufacturers within the European Union, the US and Japan had already invested heavily in expanding existing facilities. “The Committee will also examine the opportunities for collaboration with such allies,” it said in a statement.
Announcing the inquiry Jones said in a statement: “We want to hear from industry, academics and experts to get a better picture of the UK semiconductor landscape here at a time when there are concerns over the future of global supply chains.”
The inquiry has eight terms of reference, including the current and future demand for products dependent on semiconductors, security, opportunities to strengthen the UK semiconductor sector, and should the government strengthen research and development?
“What is the UK’s semiconductor supply chain, and is this secure?” The Committee asks, adding that submissions need to be received by June 14, 2022.
Announcing the inquiry, the Committee cites the potential acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia, a Dutch-based subsidiary of China’s Wintech Technology, which it describes as controversial.
The public sector is increasing the pace of digitisation, but the semiconductor shortage is creating obstacles as suppliers struggle to source equipment. Accounting and business advisory group Deloitte reported that demand for devices and datacentres increased throughout 2020 and 2021 and that it expects enterprise and consumer technology component lead times to expand into 2023 as demand continues to rise.
