Recommendation 25

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 for them, because government cannot do everything.” The Department told us the new government had been clear about what it saw as the sources of growth and highlighted that the UK’s last industrial strategy was criticised as trying to provide “all things for all people”.51 We asked the Department what the Industrial Strategy will mean for sectors not designated ‘growth-driving’. The Department acknowledged that while it cared about all sectors, it had been clear about where it would put its focus to drive exports and investment. The Department told us it recognised that sectors such as steel were foundational to the UK economy and that it wanted to ensure the wider UK environment is a good place for all businesses to prosper.52