33rd Report - Supporting the UK’s priority industry sectors

While the Department is responsible for supporting businesses overall, it does not ‘own’ every sector of the economy nor is it responsible for every support intervention delivered by government. Many of the levers needed to bring about change to the … Read more While the Department is responsible for supporting businesses overall, it does not ‘own’ every sector of the economy nor is it responsible for every support intervention delivered by government. Many of the levers needed to bring about change to the business environment sit outside of the Department. The financial services sector, for example, primarily sits with HM Treasury, whereas skills is the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills England. As a consequence, the Department must work with and influence at least 10 other government departments to achieve its objectives.19 Show less

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The Department’s working relationships with others in government vary in maturity and other government departments have mixed views on the Department’s remit.20 To agree roles and responsibilities between departments, the Department told us it had introduced ‘handshake agreements’.21 However, the … Read more The Department’s working relationships with others in government vary in maturity and other government departments have mixed views on the Department’s remit.20 To agree roles and responsibilities between departments, the Department told us it had introduced ‘handshake agreements’.21 However, the NAO’s report highlighted these had yet to be adopted by the majority of sector teams.22 We asked the Department about its assessment of the need for joined-up, whole-of-government thinking, and why it does not have an MoU with every department it interacts with to ensure they have shared expectations. The Department told us it was confident government departments were aligned under the growth mission, but it committed to consider the potential of having formal agreements between itself and its partners.23 Show less

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To monitor the performance of economic sectors and share information, the Department produces business intelligence products. The Department told us it recognised these products had not previously been shared well across Whitehall and that it had taken steps to do … Read more To monitor the performance of economic sectors and share information, the Department produces business intelligence products. The Department told us it recognised these products had not previously been shared well across Whitehall and that it had taken steps to do so in a more comprehensive and consistent way. The Department told us its recurring business intelligence reports were now being shared with over 2,500 officials across government, including ministers and 16 permanent secretaries.27 The Department said it had support from Downing Street and senior officials in this area.28 Oversight of departmental spending Show less

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The government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which aims to channel support to eight growth-driving sectors, is expected to be published in spring 2025 alongside the Spending Review.49 The Department told us the eight priority sectors were collectively responsible for 30% of … Read more The government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which aims to channel support to eight growth-driving sectors, is expected to be published in spring 2025 alongside the Spending Review.49 The Department told us the eight priority sectors were collectively responsible for 30% of GDP and 60% of growth. To inform the Strategy’s design, the Department told us its Green Paper consultation had received over 27,000 responses. The Department told us the Strategy will set out a clear vision, be developed in partnership with industry, and have consistency in approach. There will also be external challenge from the new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.50 Show less

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While it is not the only department to do so, the Department for Business and Trade directly supports industry through a range of interventions with a range of policy objectives. Some of the Department’s interventions are aimed at specific sectors whereas others are designed to improve the general business environment. …

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The Department tracks its programme spending, grant expenditure and Business Group resource spending across sector teams but does not have processes to break this down by support type using existing systems. In 2023–24, the Department spent £790.9 million on business support grants, 62.5% of which was allocated to advanced manufacturing, …

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While its primary objective is economic growth, the Department uses a range of metrics to guide its work, some of which require trade-offs. Factors considered by the Department when designing support initiatives include GVA, net zero ambitions, and national security. The NAO found that the Department lacked a standardised approach …

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We asked the Department how it balances trade-offs when making decisions about support, and how it makes this explicit. Officials told us that it assesses interventions using HM Treasury’s five principles. Proposals are then put to Ministers who make decisions based on advice from the Department and their own understanding …

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The Department noted that one of the criticisms of the 2017 Industrial Strategy was that it was too broad and not enough choices were made. The government has now designated eight growth-driving sectors, and the Department told us these were selected on the basis of joint analysis with HM Treasury, …

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Following its formation in February 2023, the Department consolidated teams from the former BEIS and DIT into 25 sector-facing teams within its Business Group. These sector teams vary by size and grade distribution. The Department’s Business Group also has teams that work across sectors, such as the Business Intelligence Unit. …

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We asked the Department about its overall priorities and whether it had aligned its resources accordingly. The Department explained that when the former DIT and BEIS merged, two sets of teams came together, which it structured around 10 economic sectors. Its directorates were approximately the same size, but the size …

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We asked the Department if it was agile enough to respond to emerging issues such as changing tariff rates affecting UK businesses. The Department told us it understands the importance of ‘surging’ resource to where it is needed most urgently, and said it has been able to flex resources across …

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