Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
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 businesses in general, it is not itself responsible for all the relationships and policy interventions involving these sectors and must work with at 3 least 10 other government departments. The Department’s relationships with these bodies vary in maturity and there is no shared understanding of sector ownership, roles, or responsibilities. Prior to the announcement of the Industrial Strategy, the Department proposed formalising sector roles and responsibilities between departments by agreeing ‘handshakes’ which were akin to memorandums of understanding (MoU), but this approach was not widely adopted. Some cross-government structures have developed which aim to look at issues in an integrated way, such as the Office for Life Sciences, a skills forum, and the recent Growth Mission Board, and there is potential for this approach to be used more widely. The Department analyses and shares business intelligence across government, giving insight into senior engagement with businesses and sectoral issues, but its reporting could be improved. recommendation The Department should develop the way it works with other departments to support industry, looking to: • reach a common understanding of industry sectors, roles, and responsibilities with other government departments, formalise this with MoUs, and consider the most appropriate models for effective cross-government working; and • take steps to improve its intelligence sharing and explore digital solutions.
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.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The department developed the whole of the Industrial Strategy in partnership with other departments, with Sector Plans led by relevant departments. This ongoing programme of work involves sector councils and taskforces, chaired by leaders from the sectors and with representatives across relevant industries, working with lead departments and the Department for Business and Trade as appropriate. Implementing the Industrial Strategy is a government-wide effort, underpinned by shared objectives and metrics. Governance has been established to coordinate the Industrial Strategy and Growth Mission at senior levels. Permanent Secretaries from economy-focused departments meet regularly to address strategic issues and engagement with priority businesses. The group is supported by a cross-government, Director-level Industrial Strategy Programme Board, co-chaired by the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury. The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC) provides advice, expertise on delivery, monitoring and impact evaluation, and will build on the evidence base to support future policy development for the Industrial Strategy. It will work closely with the department and HM Treasury, lead officials from across government and public bodies to support progress using a data-led approach. The department consolidates intelligence sourced from business sectors, overseas, regional and analytical teams to produce monthly business intelligence reports. These are shared widely across government, reaching over 2,500 recipients, including ministers from the department and 16 Permanent Secretaries across government, to inform and shape policy. The department continues to improve this reporting in response to user needs, including through digital platforms to enhance accessibility and readership. The department has developed a new cross government digital customer relationship management system to improve the sharing of business intelligence. The Strategic Company Insight Tool (SCIT) enables departments to log business engagements, share company statistics, business insights and government priorities for engagement, making clear which department and officials are responsible for coordinating the strategic relationship. Several departments, with lead responsibilities, currently use the tool and the department is expanding usage. Built in-house through a partnership between business-facing policy teams and digital functions, the SCIT has removed the need for a potentially costly external procurement. Groundbreaking elements include voice transcription and the ability to securely share commercially sensitive information across departmental boundaries.