Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what estimate he has made of the regional distribution of private equity and venture capital investment in manufacturing businesses; and what steps he is taking to encourage greater investment in areas with historically low levels of industrial investment.

The government monitors the regional and sectoral distribution of investment through the British Business Bank’s (BBB) Small Business Equity Tracker. Between 2024 and 2025, investment in Advanced Manufacturing businesses increased significantly, but remains low compared to other sectors. In the same year, the share of investment outside of London continued to increase.

The government encourages investment into regions with low levels of industrial investment through the BBB’s Nation and Regions Funds, which committed £2.2 billion into underserved regions since 2017 and the recently announced Northern scale-up fund, backed by £150 million of BBB capital, investing in scale-ups across the region.