Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 businesses.10 The Department told us that the government wanted to be organised around businesses’ needs, and that integrating its international and domestic support for businesses was the clearest rationale for creating the Department of Business and Trade.11 However, there have been instances where businesses have received duplicate or conflicting information from the Department and other government departments.12 The Department said that its sector teams work closely at working level with other departments, for example with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on creative industries, but acknowledged the challenge identified in the NAO report that it could 6 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.3, 1.10, Figure 8 7 C&AG’s Report, para 2 8 The eight ‘growth-driving’ sectors are: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services. 9 C&AG’s Report, paras 2, 6 10 Q 51 11 Q 42 12 C&AG’s Report, para 2.15 8 go further.13 The Department said that its Business Group covered all businesses, and that if a company approached the Department with a need, it could help resolve their issue.14
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.