Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Invest 2035 on rural economies; and what steps he plans to use to monitor its impact on rural inclusion.

Invest 2035 was published in October last year, seeking views on the UK’s Industrial Strategy. The Modern Industrial Strategy was published on 23 June, setting out a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). The Strategy focuses efforts on the city regions and clusters where the IS-8 concentrate. There are clusters across the country, including in rural areas, and the policy package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by businesses in the IS-8 sectors.

The Government supports a robust and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the Industrial Strategy. We have chosen six economic indicators that reflect a range of desirable objectives for the IS-8 and the economy as a whole, which will be tracked at a sector and place level. Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy will be overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council who will take a data-led approach to assess progress on the overall Industrial Strategy.