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.
Answered on
4 July 2025
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.