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

To ask Her Majesty's Government which department leads on the Industrial Strategy; whether that department will continue to lead that strategy (1) during the next financial year, and (2) to the end of the current parliament; and if that department will not continue to lead that strategy, (a) which department will do so, and (b) whether the Industrial Strategy will need to be updated.

Since the Industrial Strategy was published in 2017, the UK has been presented with new challenges and new opportunities; we have legislated to end our contribution to climate change by 2050, we are forging a new path outside the European Union and continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore right that we take a fresh look at our plans for industrial policy and long-term economic growth.

We are morphing and changing the Industrial Strategy into Build Back Better: our plan for growth and its supporting strategies to reflect the change in economic landscape since 2017. The plan and its supporting strategies will protect and create jobs as we transition to net zero with a renewed focus on infrastructure, skills, and innovation.

Although ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ has been led by HM Treasury, this is setting the framework for the work that we will do across Government to ensure we build back better from the current challenges and deliver long term economic growth. Ministers and Departmental officials will continue to work together to ensure our priorities are met, delivering these strategies to ensure longer-term economic growth.

In order to support the Government’s ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’, the Department plans to set out details of our approach to supporting sectors, places, and technologies in the Innovation Strategy. The Department is already leading on strategies with respect to net zero, hydrogen and, innovation itself, as well as the space strategy. The work the Department has and continues to do has contributed greatly to the work for ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ and will contribute to its supporting strategies.