Business and Trade

The Government are continuing to make progress on delivering their industrial strategy through publication of the response to a consultation on regulatory changes and scheme delivery for the British industrial competitiveness scheme.

BICS is the flagship policy of the industrial strategy that will address Britain’s longstanding competitiveness challenge in manufacturing. The policy will support heavy industry, advanced manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains.

Following the recent consultation, the Government confirm that they will proceed with planned changes to the renewables obligation, capacity market and feed-in tariffs to implement BICS.

The consultation response also confirms key aspects of scheme delivery, including certificate length, application windows, further eligibility requirements and an update on the delivery of the additional payment announced in April. These measures will help ensure that BICS delivers the greatest possible impact for businesses in Great Britain.

The Government will shortly be announcing the launch of an online eligibility checker tool. This simple, free-to-use tool will allow businesses to input basic information and receive an indication of their likely eligibility for BICS. It will be accompanied by comprehensive business guidance.

To support the timely introduction of BICS, legislation will be laid before Parliament in the autumn. Applications will open on 1 October and close on 30 November for year one of the scheme. Eligible businesses will receive support from April 2027, subject to applying within this window.

I encourage hon. Members to engage stakeholders in their constituencies to raise awareness of the British industrial competitiveness scheme and to invite businesses to use the eligibility checker in the coming weeks to assess their likely eligibility and then apply when applications open in October.

[HCWS200]

One year ago, this Government published the modern industrial strategy, a 10-year plan to increase business investment, drive economic growth and support high-quality jobs across the United Kingdom. The strategy backs the industries that will define the 21st-century economy and tackles the barriers that have too often held back investment, innovation and growth.

Businesses, trade bodies and investors told us that what they needed most was a long-term plan that provided certainty. They also told us that one of the greatest barriers to growth was not ambition, but friction. In response, we have taken action across planning, infrastructure, energy, skills, access to finance, and regulation to make the UK a better place to start, grow and scale a business.

Today, we are publishing a one-year update on delivery of the industrial strategy, setting out how we have taken co-ordinated action to start addressing these barriers to growth. This includes introducing major planning reforms to accelerate infrastructure delivery, reducing energy costs for thousands of firms, improving access to finance for growing businesses, investing in the skills needed by key industries, and strengthening the support available to companies seeking to start, scale and stay in the United Kingdom. Twelve months on, businesses are beginning to see the benefits of a more joined-up approach to Government, with over £380 billion of private investment commitments secured, more than 155,000 jobs supported, and reforms under way to remove barriers to growth across the economy.

The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council continues to play an important role in advising on delivery of the strategy and maintaining a long-term focus on implementation. In January we announced the appointment of Amelia Gould, Keith Anderson and Dana Strong to the council, and in April confirmed that Clare Barclay would continue to serve as chair. We are now confirming that Aislinn Rice, Dame Diane Coyle, the right hon. Greg Clark, Greg Jackson, Henrik L. Pedersen, Henry G. Overman, Kate Bell, Roy Rickhuss, Tunde Olanrewaju and Dame Nancy Rothwell (deputy chair) will continue to serve as members of the council. Chris Grigg, chair of the National Wealth Fund, and Phil Smith, chair of Skills England, will also continue as ex-officio members.

The fifth round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Turkey took place in Ankara between 15 and 23 June 2026.

Economic growth is our first mission in Government, and free trade agreements have an important role to play in achieving it. A stronger trade relationship with Turkey can support jobs and prosperity in the UK, with trade between the two totalling £28.4 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2025—an increase of 4.3% from the previous year.

To support this round of negotiations, I travelled to Turkey to meet with the Minister of Trade, Professor Dr Ömer Bolat, and Deputy Minister of Trade, Mustafa Tuzcu.

Negotiations were constructive, with positive progress being made in a number of areas.

Productive discussions were held across a range of technical areas, including digital trade, domestic regulation and telecommunications. The investment session saw valuable exchanges, reflecting the shared ambition and good will between both sides. Particularly strong progress was made in legal services, among other areas. Across sessions, negotiators engaged in detailed text-based discussions, testing areas of alignment, exploring respective levels of ambition, and identifying outstanding issues. Both sides continued to engage productively, building on progress made in previous rounds.