33rd Report - Supporting the UK’s priority industry sectors

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 1070 25 June 2025
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 28 items (9 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 28 of 28 classified)
Accepted 16
Acknowledged 12
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-third report from Session 2024-26 · published 18 Sep 2025
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker

Recommendations & Conclusions

28 results
2 Conclusion Accepted
Develop collaboration with other departments, formalising sector roles and improving intelligence sharing.
Conclusion
The Department is not working effectively enough with other departments to support industry and achieve the greatest impact. The Department views the economy through the lens of 10 economic sectors and 41 sub-sectors. While the Department is responsible for supporting … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it developed the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments, established governance and boards for coordination, and implemented a new digital Strategic Company Insight Tool (SCIT) to improve cross-government intelligence sharing, with usage currently expanding.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Accepted
Consolidate understanding of industry support and improve reporting to inform future decision-making.
Conclusion
The Department lacks a comprehensive understanding of its support for industry, including how much it spends per sector and the types of support it offers. The Department supports industry through a range of interventions, which vary in form and scale. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it will collaborate across government to enhance tracking and reporting of support to Industrial Strategy sectors, refine sector definitions, and conduct strategic analysis to assess policy effectiveness and economic trends.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Provide greater transparency on factors and processes used for balancing industry support decisions.
Conclusion
It is not clear how the Department balances multiple government objectives, such as growth and net zero, when making decisions about how to support industry. Government needs to consider a wide range of metrics when making investment decisions including employment, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government will provide greater transparency by using new 'place-based business cases' and supplementary guidance to assess projects and private sector contributions. It will also work with various bodies to maximise the impact of business-facing funds, with an approach already outlined in the Industrial Strategy's Technical Annex and a new supply chain centre being established.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Accepted
Review internal structures and resourcing to align with Industrial Strategy objectives and emerging issues.
Conclusion
There is a risk that the Department is not set up internally to support the aims of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and to respond to ongoing issues facing UK businesses. The composition of sector teams in the Department’s Business Group … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it has transitioned the Industrial Strategy Unit into a permanent delivery unit and has set out plans to restructure teams to focus on Industrial Strategy delivery, with this transformation already in progress and mostly completed by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Accepted
Update Committee on Industrial Strategy adaptation and metrics for measuring its success.
Conclusion
It is essential that the government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy has clear measures of success and effective processes for monitoring and evaluation. The government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy is central to its economic growth mission. The Department is placing great emphasis on … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has committed to regularly reviewing progress against the Industrial Strategy, supported by the ISAC, and has implemented a public monitoring and evaluation approach underpinned by an impact pathway outlined in the technical annex. All government departments will carry out monitoring and evaluation for their individual policies and Sector Plans.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
Committee reviewed evidence on government support for UK’s priority industry sectors
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Business and Trade (the Department) and HM Treasury on support for the UK’s priority industry sectors.1
Government Response Summary
The government states it conducted a detailed consultation, introduced a cross-government Account Management initiative with dedicated account managers and ministerial engagement, and established a dedicated area to coordinate business engagement. It also published 'The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy' and will explore establishing dedicated Sector Offices.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Businesses receive duplicate or conflicting information from multiple government departments
Recommendation
To support industry, government must listen to the needs of businesses. The Department told us that while every government department engages with industry in some form, the Department for Business and Trade aspires to be a ‘front door’ for all … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government conducted a detailed consultation with business through the green paper Invest 2035, introduced a cross-government Account Management initiative, appointing dedicated account managers to lead strategic relationships with key businesses, and established a dedicated area to coordinate business engagement and insights.
HM Treasury
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8 Recommendation Accepted
Department improved intelligence sharing and single account management for top businesses
Recommendation
The Department recognised the importance of sharing business intelligence across government. It said that while the legal and technical issues surrounding this could be resolved, creating the right culture and incentives was harder. The Department told us it takes an … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has developed a new cross government digital customer relationship management system called the Strategic Company Insight Tool (SCIT) to improve the sharing of business intelligence, enable logging of business engagements, sharing company statistics, business insights and government priorities for engagement.
HM Treasury
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9 Recommendation Accepted
Department struggles monitoring sector engagement with inaccessible digital systems and inconsistent records
Recommendation
We asked the Department about its ability to monitor its engagement with economic sectors, given that officials do not consistently record their interactions with companies, and its digital system — DataHub — is not accessible across the whole of Whitehall.17 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government developed a cross government digital customer relationship management system called the Strategic Company Insight Tool (SCIT) to improve the sharing of business intelligence.
HM Treasury
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10 Recommendation Acknowledged
Department must collaborate with multiple government departments to achieve its business objectives
Recommendation
While the Department is responsible for supporting businesses overall, it does not ‘own’ every sector of the economy nor is it responsible for every support intervention delivered by government. Many of the levers needed to bring about change to the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation and states the department developed the whole of the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments, with Sector Plans led by relevant departments and that this is an ongoing programme.
HM Treasury
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11 Recommendation Acknowledged
Department's inter-departmental working relationships vary, with limited adoption of handshake agreements
Recommendation
The Department’s working relationships with others in government vary in maturity and other government departments have mixed views on the Department’s remit.20 To agree roles and responsibilities between departments, the Department told us it had introduced ‘handshake agreements’.21 However, the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation and states the department developed the whole of the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments, with Sector Plans led by relevant departments and that this is an ongoing programme.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Accepted
Office for Life Sciences model shows potential for integrated cross-departmental working
Conclusion
In the absence of formal agreements, the NAO reported that teams had taken different approaches to agree roles and that structures had emerged to overcome cross-departmental barriers.24 The Department highlighted the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), its cross-department skills forum, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department developed the whole of the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments and this ongoing programme of work involves sector councils and taskforces.
HM Treasury
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13 Recommendation Acknowledged
Department significantly improved sharing business intelligence reports across Whitehall departments
Recommendation
To monitor the performance of economic sectors and share information, the Department produces business intelligence products. The Department told us it recognised these products had not previously been shared well across Whitehall and that it had taken steps to do … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation and states the department developed the whole of the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments, with Sector Plans led by relevant departments and that this is an ongoing programme.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department directly supports industry through varied interventions including grants and sector funds
Conclusion
While it is not the only department to do so, the Department for Business and Trade directly supports industry through a range of interventions with a range of policy objectives. Some of the Department’s interventions are aimed at specific sectors … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department currently supports industry through a range of interventions, the scale and form of which varies greatly, spending £790.9 million on business support grants in 2023–24, with 62.5% going to the advanced manufacturing sector and 29.9% to the energy sector.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department tracks overall spending but lacks systems to breakdown support by type
Conclusion
The Department tracks its programme spending, grant expenditure and Business Group resource spending across sector teams but does not have processes to break this down by support type using existing systems. In 2023–24, the Department spent £790.9 million on business … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department currently supports industry through a range of interventions, the scale and form of which varies greatly, spending £790.9 million on business support grants in 2023–24, with 62.5% going to the advanced manufacturing sector and 29.9% to the energy sector.
HM Treasury
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16 Recommendation Accepted
Department lacks complete overview and accurate data on industry support spending
Recommendation
The Department does not have a complete overview or accurate data on what it, and wider government, spends on supporting industry. The Department found it difficult to readily provide the NAO with a breakdown of its support for industry. It … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government will collaborate across government and public bodies to enhance tracking and reporting of support to the Industrial Strategy sectors, refine sector definitions, and conduct strategic analysis to assess policy effectiveness and economic trends.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department lacks standardised approach for balancing metrics in industry support decisions
Conclusion
While its primary objective is economic growth, the Department uses a range of metrics to guide its work, some of which require trade-offs. Factors considered by the Department when designing support initiatives include GVA, net zero ambitions, and national security. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government is aligning industry support with strategic priorities, including the Industrial Strategy, and will use new 'place-based business cases' to assess complementary projects in specific regions, with supplementary guidance on economic resilience.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Acknowledged
Ministerial decisions on industry support trade-offs lack explicit, detailed methodology
Conclusion
We asked the Department how it balances trade-offs when making decisions about support, and how it makes this explicit. Officials told us that it assesses interventions using HM Treasury’s five principles. Proposals are then put to Ministers who make decisions … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government is aligning industry support with strategic priorities, including the Industrial Strategy, and will use new 'place-based business cases' to assess complementary projects in specific regions, with supplementary guidance on economic resilience.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Acknowledged
Government prioritises eight growth sectors while recognising broader foundational industries
Conclusion
The Department noted that one of the criticisms of the 2017 Industrial Strategy was that it was too broad and not enough choices were made. The government has now designated eight growth-driving sectors, and the Department told us these were … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government is aligning industry support with strategic priorities, including the Industrial Strategy, and will use new 'place-based business cases' to assess complementary projects in specific regions, with supplementary guidance on economic resilience.
HM Treasury
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20 Recommendation Accepted
Cross-Whitehall collaboration essential for Industrial Strategy delivery despite misaligned objectives
Recommendation
We asked the Department to clarify its relationships with other departments and the influence it has in decision-making and trade-offs.40 The Department recognised it cannot deliver the forthcoming Industrial Strategy in isolation, and that other government departments have a role … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government developed a cross government digital customer relationship management system called the Strategic Company Insight Tool (SCIT) to improve the sharing of business intelligence.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Acknowledged
Departmental sector team staffing levels lack correlation with industry importance or spending
Conclusion
Following its formation in February 2023, the Department consolidated teams from the former BEIS and DIT into 25 sector-facing teams within its Business Group. These sector teams vary by size and grade distribution. The Department’s Business Group also has teams … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department will ensure effective implementation of the Industrial Strategy by using a permanent delivery unit and restructuring teams, which will be mostly completed by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department reviewing resource allocation to align with Industrial Strategy priority sectors
Conclusion
We asked the Department about its overall priorities and whether it had aligned its resources accordingly. The Department explained that when the former DIT and BEIS merged, two sets of teams came together, which it structured around 10 economic sectors. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department will ensure effective implementation of the Industrial Strategy by using a permanent delivery unit and restructuring teams, which will be mostly completed by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department demonstrates agility for urgent issues but faces specialist recruitment challenges
Conclusion
We asked the Department if it was agile enough to respond to emerging issues such as changing tariff rates affecting UK businesses. The Department told us it understands the importance of ‘surging’ resource to where it is needed most urgently, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department will ensure effective implementation of the Industrial Strategy by using a permanent delivery unit and restructuring teams, which will be mostly completed by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
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24 Recommendation Acknowledged
Forthcoming Industrial Strategy focuses on eight growth sectors with industry partnership
Recommendation
The government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which aims to channel support to eight growth-driving sectors, is expected to be published in spring 2025 alongside the Spending Review.49 The Department told us the eight priority sectors were collectively responsible for 30% of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has committed to regularly reviewing progress against the Industrial Strategy, supported by the ISAC through its expertise on monitoring and evaluation and continued advice on policy development and delivery.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Accepted
Industrial Strategy prioritisation of growth sectors may disappoint other industries
Conclusion
The Department said it recognises that, with limited resources, it will be required to make difficult decisions about what it is prioritising in the forthcoming Strategy, noting that “some people will be disappointed in what we are able to do … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government will align industry support with strategic priorities, introduce new 'place-based business cases' and supplementary guidance, and collaborate with advisory bodies by Summer 2026 to maximize impact across jobs, skills, and regional growth. It also details the analytical approach used to identify and support various industries within the Industrial Strategy.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Accepted
Department unable to detail Industrial Strategy's future funding and scope currently.
Conclusion
We asked the Department what the forthcoming Industrial Strategy will mean for the scale and composition of its support for industry going forward. The Department told us it was preparing for an upcoming spending review and therefore could not provide … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the Modern Industrial Strategy priorities are embedded in budgets and commits to collaborating across government to enhance tracking, reporting, and strategic analysis of support for Industrial Strategy sectors, developing an analytical program with ISAC for monitoring and evaluation.
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion Accepted
Inconsistent monitoring and evaluation evident across Department's industry support programmes.
Conclusion
We asked the Department about gaps in its monitoring and evaluation of support programmes.54 Of the Department’s Business Group’s 32 initiatives to support sectors, it provided monitoring and evaluation evidence for just 11.55 The Department told us there is a … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it has implemented a recommendation (though the committee labelled it a conclusion) by committing to regularly review progress against the Industrial Strategy, supported by the ISAC and a public monitoring and evaluation approach. This framework is underpinned by an impact pathway for tracking individual policies and ensures government departments conduct M&E for their policies.
HM Treasury
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28 Conclusion Accepted
Department lacks specific objectives for Industrial Strategy despite setting a growth target.
Conclusion
We asked the Department how it would measure success. Officials told us growth was its overarching objective as measured by GDP per head and real household disposable income. The Department highlighted that trade-offs were required under an industrial strategy and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it has implemented a recommendation (though the committee labelled it a conclusion) by committing to regularly review progress against the Industrial Strategy, supported by the ISAC and a public monitoring and evaluation approach. They have defined top-level objectives as increases in GDP per capita and Real Household Disposable Income, underpinned by an impact pathway.
HM Treasury
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