WIREDGOV

The Critical Supply Group has published their 2026 report examining UK supply chains. techUK has been named a collaborator in the report due to our work connecting the CSG with tech companies as part of their research. The CSG spoke to around 180 companies about their supply chains, with most involved in the manufacturing of goods.  

You can find the full report on the CSG website. 

Key Findings 

The report outlines underutilisation of UK supply capacity, and recommends the Government better co-ordinate the UK's critical supply capability to ensure companies can play a full part in both securing their own supply chains and securing the supply chains of others. This includes through improving the transparency and accessibility of procurement processes, as procurement was reported as the most significant barrier to UK companies supplying critical sectors and SMEs in particular reported being opaque and inaccessible. More generally, it also involves building up and providing more responsive expertise for companies looking to make themselves resilient, especially as 49% of firms reported turning to GOV.UK to inform resilience decisions, which is more than twice any other source. 

In terms of barriers, the report also found energy is the main CNI sector businesses rely upon, making reducing energy costs a key priority for national supply chain resilience. Access to critical inputs meanwhile has remained stable but is becoming increasingly limited. Greater digital adoption, particularly of AI and shared data, was also cited as an important way for businesses to support their resilience through intelligent use of a shared evidence base.   

The report also recommends all companies take a proactive approach to resilience. For SMEs in particular, it recommends: 

• Use available government guidance and tools 
• Identify and assess the most critical inputs and the points at which they are most exposed, as a basis for prioritising action.  
• Draw on, and ask more of, the business representative organisations, such as trade associations and Chambers of Commerce, on supplier visibility, buyer engagement and resilience support. 

techUK view  

This is a timely report that comes amidst the wider conversation on resilience and security. 

techUK has long shown that energy is at the top of the list of concerns for tech businesses, with the UK having some of the highest energy costs in the world. techUK has been campaigning to bring energy costs down for tech businesses, and you can catch up with the latest work in this area here.  

Interestingly, the report also found that companies have taken split attitudes to building resilience. 50% are diversifying and contingency planning, and 49% are forming strategic partnerships. Meanwhile, only 15% are onshoring or near-shoring of production, services or hosting. This suggests that the UK and its companies are relying on forging international partnerships to improve resilience, showing the power of international partnerships as a source of security rather than vulnerability.  

We also support the calls for Government to develop and expand its expertise in resilience and security, which we see as part of our wider call for the Government to develop serious and strong expertise in trade matters for the benefit of UK companies. This expertise would particularly benefit UK SMEs, as shown in our recent trade report Spreading Wings: Taking Innovative SMEs Global. 

We wish to thank the techUK members that responded to this report.