The Department is not yet doing enough to encourage investment into the areas of the UK where it can have the most impact on local economic growth. The Department aims to focus on high-value investments that support government’s wider objectives including on levelling up and promoting growth across the UK. However, there is variation across the UK in the number of new jobs that the Department estimates will be created through investment projects supported in 2021–22. We note that more jobs were created in London, than in total in Scotland, north-east England, north-west England, and Yorkshire and the Humber. The Department has added a new target to its internal performance framework on supporting investments that lead to over 35,000 new jobs outside London and the South East in 2022–23. However, this target does not differentiate between UK nations and regions so investment will not necessarily go to where it can make the most difference. The Department accepts that the target is a blunt instrument and is working with the Department of Levelling Up, Houses and Communities to develop a more granular focus. The Department also agrees that it needs a deeper understanding of the relative strengths and competitive advantages of different parts of the UK and has further work to do on this. Recommendation 4: The Department should work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to develop a more focused target for supporting investment across the UK, which reflects that Department’s levelling up objectives and is directed at the geographical areas where investment is most needed. For example, the Department for Business and Trade could consider a target for supporting investment 10–15 miles outside of a city centre.