Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Sectary of State what progress has been made on agreeing Local Industrial Strategies; and which local areas are in discussion with his Department to develop Local Industrial Strategies.

As set out in the Industrial Strategy White Paper we will prioritise agreeing Local Industrial Strategies with areas that have the potential to drive wider regional growth, focusing on clusters of expertise and centres of economic activity.

At the Budget we confirmed that we will work in partnership with Greater Manchester Mayoral Combined Authority to develop a Local Industrial Strategy. The Second Devolution Deal for the West Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority included a commitment to produce a Local Industrial Strategy. In addition, as part of the Government’s overarching vision to drive economic growth and productivity in the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford Corridor, we invited the Corridor’s LEPs, along with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Combined Authority, to begin the development of Local Industrial Strategies.