Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Acknowledged
Office for Investment established to enhance cross-government coordination on high-value investments.
Conclusion
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 the brand and authority of Downing Street through its links with the Number 10 Business Unit, both for bringing together other departments to support investment projects, and to demonstrate to investors that the government values them.57 It gave the example of BioNTech, which had recently signed an agreement with the government to do clinical trials in the UK over the next ten years, and is expected to invest several hundreds of millions. The Department explained that the Office for Investment had helped support the investment by arranging a meeting between the BioNTech founders and relevant senior stakeholders from across the health service, relevant government departments and regulators. The Department told us that it had received very positive feedback from BioNTech though it recognised the meeting likely had a marginal impact in terms of influencing BioNTech to choose the UK for its investment.58
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: April 2024 6.2 The department actively engages with investors to understand what they need from government, and how the department can coordinate action across Whitehall to tackle barriers to inward investment. 6.3 The Investment Council provides a regular forum to gather investor feedback, including from CEOs and company founders. The Council provides a platform to coordinate and aggregate intelligence from investors’ experiences of doing business in the UK into insights that support the department’s policymaking. 6.4 In addition to this, the department’s analytical function surveys investors annually, including on the barriers that investors face. The department is working on improving this process and increasing the response rate. 6.5 Despite this existing engagement, the department recognises that further steps are necessary to coordinate investment promotion effectively across Whitehall. 6.6 The Harrington Review is a key milestone, as one of the key focus areas for the report will examine how the department can extend the benefits of working across government on investment in key sectors. Following the publication of the report in September 2023. The department will look to implement any relevant recommendations. The department has also held workshops with the Office for Investment (OfI) and relevant department teams, particularly in relation to the OfI’s creation and impact on cross-Whitehall working. The department will provide an update to the Committee in the next Treasury Minute progress report on the conclusions of this work, including where these could support the department’s investment promotion efforts in the future. 6.7 Upon the conclusion of the Harrington Review, the department will take further appropriate action to improve the department’s approach to cross-government working on investment promotion.