Supporting investments in the UK

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 20 Jan 2023 Closed: 24 Sep 2023 Parliament page
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is responsible for supporting investment into the UK from overseas. Working with the Office for Investment and a range of other government departments and bodies, DIT aims to achieve economic growth in all the nations and regions of the UK. Based on the NAO … Read more
7 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
24 Sep
2023
Report published
9 Jun
2023
Report published
25 May
2023
Correspondence
6 Mar
2023
Oral evidence
6 Mar
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
6 Mar 2023
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Supporting investments in the UK
Amanda Brooks CBE · Department for Business and Trade Ceri Smith · Department for International Trade Daniel Gieve · Office for Investment Gareth Davies CB · Department for Business and Trade
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting investment into the UK HC 996 9 Jun 2023 28 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Review major supported investments to assess actual long-term benefits and wider economic impacts
The Department focuses more on securing investment deals in the short term, rather than understanding the long-term economic benefits from investment. Inward investment can support economic growth and local economies by developing new infrastructure and skills, creating jobs and by … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and acknowledges challenges in accurately estimating economic impact and evaluating performance due to missing data. It states it will seek to improve data quality and ways of working in this area.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Department for Business and Trade created by combining BEIS and DIT functions
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Business and Trade and its Office for Investment about supporting investment into the UK.1 In February 2023, the government created the … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed, outlining its strategic ambitions and existing use of official statistics for measuring investment outcomes. It committed to exploring the feasibility of expanding investor surveys, including those who abandoned plans, and will define a timeframe for this within 12 months, as it continues to evaluate data and identify different approaches through international organizations.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Department's inward investment job forecasts impacted by early dropouts and exclude wider economic impacts.
The Department records potential long-term benefits of inward investment such as the salary level of the jobs expected to be created and export potential, and reports its forecasts of the number of new and safeguarded jobs that are expected to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation and acknowledges difficulties with data quality in estimating economic benefits and second-order impacts. It commits to seeking improvements in its ways of working to improve data quality in this area.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Risk of diminished long-term inward investment benefits if companies move operations or listings abroad.
In some cases, there may be fewer long-term benefits from inward investment than originally forecast if, for example, foreign investors choose to move parts of their operations, jobs and skilled UK staff overseas.24 We heard about the cases of Japanese-owned … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation that long-term benefits may be fewer than forecast. It states its focus is on landing, retaining, and expanding UK presence, and commits to seeking improvements in data quality for estimating economic impact.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Department lacks routine long-term monitoring and evaluation for inward investment project outcomes.
The Department does not routinely monitor what outcomes have been achieved, whether they are higher or lower than forecast, or whether investments have led to any economic disbenefits.27 We asked the Department how many of the jobs it forecasts at … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation that long-term outcomes are not routinely monitored. It acknowledges issues with data quality in estimating economic benefits and commits to seeking improvements in its ways of working in this area.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Office for Investment established to enhance cross-government coordination on high-value investments.
The Department said the Office for Investment was set up to improve cross-government coordination on high-value strategically important investments, as the government recognised this was an area for improvement. It said that the Office for Investment was able to leverage … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, stating it actively engages with investors through existing fora like the Investment Council and annual surveys. It acknowledges the need for further steps to coordinate investment promotion and will implement relevant recommendations following the Harrington Review.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Department has strengthened inter-departmental working, but further development is still needed.
The NAO report found that the Department had strengthened how it worked with other government departments to present a more coherent UK offer to investors, including through the creation of the Office for Investment, but that there were opportunities to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, highlighting existing engagement mechanisms like the Investment Council and annual investor surveys. It acknowledges that further steps are necessary to improve cross-government coordination on investment promotion and will implement relevant recommendations following the Harrington Review.
HM Treasury
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25 Recommendation Acknowledged
Fifty-Sixth Report - Supporting in…
Investors require greater long-term clarity and policy route maps from government.
We received written evidence from investors who wanted more long-term clarity on government policy. For example, the Global Infrastructure Investor Association said there should be greater focus in government on setting out route maps for investors against clear timelines, particularly … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and states it actively engages with investors through existing fora like the Investment Council and annual surveys. However, further steps to coordinate investment promotion and set out route maps will be determined and implemented following the conclusion of the Harrington Review.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 28 of 7 classified
Accepted 14
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 4
Total 7 recs + 21 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
25 May 2023 Correspondence from Gareth Davies, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business and Trade, re Supporting Investment into the UK, dated 23 March 2023
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