Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 4
33rd Report - Supporting the UK’s priority industry sectors
Published 25 Jun 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Work of the Department for Business and Trade All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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, net zero, and economic growth. Pursuit of these metrics requires trade-offs, but how the Department assesses and balances these factors is not transparent. This can make it difficult for stakeholders to understand government priorities, the rationale behind support, and for the Department to evaluate the effectiveness of its portfolio of support. Steel, for example, provides critical inputs into other sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and defence. Despite this, government policies, such as those designed to support decarbonisation, can put UK steel companies at a competitive disadvantage. There are new forums which can consider these policy choices and trade-offs and inform ministerial decisions, including the Growth Mission Board and the Permanent Secretaries’ Growth and Delivery Group. The Department acknowledges that decisions are made using a mix of data, facts and evidence, and judgement and that there is no easy formula for balancing competing objectives. recommendation The Department should provide greater transparency on the factors it considers when supporting industry, including how these factors are balanced when making decisions on what to support and how, and the processes underpinning these.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 33rd Report - Supporting the UK’s priority industry sectors (HC 1070), 25 June 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-third Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 25 August 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-third report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six recommendations, marking four as implemented and two with target implementation dates in 2026.
- On engagement with industry, it says a cross-government Account Management initiative has appointed dedicated account managers, and that it "will explore establishing dedicated Sector Offices" where there is appetite from industry.
- On cross-government working, it says it has developed a new digital system, the Strategic Company Insight Tool, and is "expanding usage" among departments.
- On understanding of its support for industry, the department says it "will collaborate across government and public bodies to enhance tracking and reporting" of support to the Industrial Strategy sectors.
- On internal structures, it states that its restructuring is "already in progress and will be mostly completed by Spring 2026". The response on balancing objectives has a target implementation date of Summer 2026.