Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, published on 23 June 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that investment in advanced manufacturing is allocated to rural communities.

Deeper partnerships with mayors and devolved governments will deliver real change in local communities, ensuring Sector Plan gains across the UK.

As part of this, we will support specific city regions and clusters through a new £600 million Strategic Sites Accelerator, and by investing £160 million in each of the UK's regional Advanced Manufacturing investment zones. This targeted support will have positive spillover effects on surrounding rural and urban communities.

Government has also secured £4 billion from the British Business Bank and £27.8 billion from the National Wealth Fund to support business across the UK access the finance they need to grow.