Manufacturing plays an important role in developing strong local economies, and is responsible for over half of UK exports. In recent years there has been a huge advance in manufacturing technology. and with this acceleration, new opportunities for improved efficiency and sustainability within the manufacturing industry. The adoption of automation and robotics is key to improving UK manufacturing productivity and tackling grand challenges such as achieving Net Zero, However there are barriers that stand in the way and the adoption of automation and robotics in the UK, compared to other countries around the world, is disappointingly low.