Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Establish robust framework with clear targets and metrics for industrial strategy and sector plans
Recommendation
We recognise that ‘what gets measured gets managed’. The forthcoming industrial strategy and sector plans must set out how their economic contribution to the Growth Mission and the Government’s strategic objectives will be measured. To track the progress of the industrial strategy, we recommend the Government sets a robust framework, with clear targets for the remainder of this Parliament and for the 10-year span of the industrial strategy, along with clear metrics. The framework should allow 70 Parliament and the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to assess how the industrial strategy is contributing to the Growth Mission as well as the strategy’s contribution to inclusive growth, net zero and the UK’s economic security and resilience. Key targets must be set for each of these objectives and enshrined in public spending agreements between the Treasury and individual departments to ensure that public spending across government is supporting the Industrial Strategy. The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council should conduct an annual progress review against these targets, and this review should be reported to Parliament. This framework should be reflected in plans for each of the growth-driving sectors, while also allowing for sector-specific metrics and targets. (Recommendation, Paragraph 31) Growth-driving sectors and grand challenges
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees on the need for clear measures and confirms the Industrial Strategy already includes a robust Monitoring and Evaluation framework overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, which will report annually. Six economic indicator metrics have been set, and Sector Plans include varying targets to track progress.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
1.1. Strategies make choices. The Industrial Strategy Green Paper, published in October 2024, identified the Industrial Strategy eight growth driving sectors using a multi-indicator assessment of current and emerging UK sector strengths. The main indicators assessed were output growth, productivity growth and international position. IS-8 were chosen based on this analysis as the sectors that should increase overall investment. These sectors will create the right kind of growth; sustainable, inclusive and secure. The aim in selecting these sectors for the Strategy is to create a more dynamic and competitive landscape, where challenger firms can emerge and create high-quality jobs, and incumbents have to invest to compete. 1.2. Since the Invest 2035 publication, the department has undertaken a full assessment of frontier industries’ strengths within the Industrial Strategy eight growth driving sectors, as well as considered supporting foundational sectors. This included an assessment of how these industries align with the government’s objectives of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth. 1.3. The department also assessed the fronter industries where government intervention could have the greatest impact. This identified over 30 ‘frontier industries’ within the Industrial Strategy eight growth driving sectors as well as eight supporting foundational sectors and inputs which were critical to these frontier industries’ success. 1.4. The trade-off between growth and other objectives was handled by selecting frontier industries that were good for both growth and other objectives. Frontier industries needed to have good growth opportunities to be included but also needed to score well on one or more of the strategic objectives of net zero, regional growth, and economic security & resilience. 2.1. The Government agrees that there must be clear measures in place to assess progress on delivering the Industrial Strategy. The Strategy set out a robust approach to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), which is an essential component of any successful policy programme. M&E will be overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, this will also ensure that the Government can adapt the Industrial Strategy in response to policies that are not having their desired effect and/or economic developments. 2.2. The Council will report annually on its work, as well as produce bespoke reports on specific topics of interest. 2.3. In the Industrial Strategy, the Government has also set out six economic indicator metrics These are: business investment, gross value added, productivity growth, trade exports, labour market outcomes and the number of large ‘home-grown’ firms. The Government and Council will also use operational data on the delivery and impact of policies, to monitor progress in delivering individual Industrial Strategy policies. 2.4. Sector Plans also include targets, as set out above, which vary to account for the different objectives and characteristics of their sector and existing government ambitions. These will be tracked by the lead department for each plan as part of their M&E programme which will subsequently feed into the overall M&E programme.
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