Up to £4.8 billion could be added to the UK economy if the six regions with the lowest digital gross value added (GVA) reached the UK median, new research suggests.

GVA is a measure of the increase in the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services.

TechUK’s Local Digital Index 2023 found that the economic productivity metric of GVA for the digital sector in each region and what this means per person, which was added into its annual index for the first time this year, brought a “new significance” to the index and showed that digital capital was key to unlocking local economic growth

The index showed that GVA per person in London was £9,083, compared to £2,055 in the West Midlands, £1,979 in Scotland, and £1,348 in Wales.

TechUK called for businesses to be incentivised to stay in the UK and the modernisation of the national curriculum to ensure digital literacy.
It also said that digital ethics education should be cross-curricular and integrated throughout primary and secondary education, adding that improving data would lead to improved policy making.

“Three years on, the Local Digital Index still presents a varied picture of the UK's tech sector across the nations and regions amidst challenging economic conditions, both domestically and internationally,” techUK said of its findings. “While the digital ecosystems across the UK have overall improved since 2020 thanks to government and business intervention, a concern emerges that technological innovation may be outpacing the speed at which the UK is embracing these transformative changes.”

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