Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing to British industrial companies that employ significant numbers of people directly and indirectly through their supply chains.

The department’s modern Industrial Strategy will make the UK the best country to invest in and grow. We are targeting government investment towards our world-class eight-growth driving sectors, from life sciences to digital technologies and advanced manufacturing so British workers can upskill and fill vacancies.

From 2027, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will reduce electricity costs by up to £35–40/MWh for manufacturing frontier industries in the Industrial Strategy and foundational industries in their supply chains, by exempting them from the indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and Capacity Market.

DBT provides targeted capital through several key programmes:

• DRIVE35: A £4 billion fund (expanded to 2035) for zero-emission vehicle manufacturing and R&D.
• Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF): Supports large-scale industrialisation of the electrified automotive supply chain.
• Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI): Up to £2.3 billion in R&D funding to 2035 through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme to support the UK’s world-leading aerospace sector develop ultra-efficient and zero-carbon aircraft.
• Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM): Up to £150 million to deploy self-driving services and logistics.