Small manufacturers want a minister Engineering company bosses have launched a parliamentary petition calling for a dedicated “minister for manufacturing,” having expressed concern that the current set-up is geared more toward large companies. A petition has been submitted on behalf of 24 companies and organisations behind the Support UK Manufacturing initiative. Company director Andrea Wilson said: “We are trying to fix the Government’s one-size fits all approach to engineering and manufacturing support.” She added: “Unfortunately, what happens in the majority of cases is the people feeding into Government policy represent much bigger businesses. They employ lots of people and tell the Government what the UK’s supply chain needs.” A Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesman said the minister represented “manufacturers of all sizes” and that he had met “many” SME manufacturers and groups representing them in recent weeks, including Make UK, the CBI and the Manufacturing Technologies Association.