[Withdrawn] Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy single departmental plan, May 2018
Updated 27 June 2019
© Crown copyright 2019
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-single-departmental-plan/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-single-departmental-plan-may-2018
This publication was withdrawn on 13 June 2019
It has been replaced by a new version.
Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Permanent Secretary
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was created in July 2016. Our department is at the heart of the government’s commitment to build an economy that works for everyone, with great places across the UK for people to work and for businesses to invest, innovate and grow. This ambition is all the more important as we leave the European Union, a move which allows – and requires – the government and the country to make long-term decisions about our economic future, and set out a positive and bold vision for the country’s future.
Our objectives
We will:
- Deliver an ambitious industrial strategy
- Maximise investment opportunities and bolster UK interests as we leave the EU
- Promote competitive markets and responsible business practices
- Ensure the UK has a reliable, low cost and clean energy system
- Build a flexible, innovative, collaborative and business-facing department
1. Deliver an ambitious industrial strategy
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Sam Gyimah MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation
The Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth
Andrew Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility
Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Business and Industry
The Rt Hon Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead officials
Gareth Davies, Director General, Business and Science
Nick Chism, Director General, Enterprise
1.1 Our Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver the government’s modern Industrial Strategy which sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK |
| Build a Britain fit for the future by focusing on the five foundations of productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places. The Strategy provides a framework for all of the department’s work |
| Establish an Independent Industrial Strategy Council to develop measures of success and evaluate the performance of the strategy |
1.2 Support world leading sectors and launch our Grand Challenges to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver against the four Grand Challenges we set out in the Industrial Strategy, to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Work with the brightest minds across the private and public sector to set ambitious missions and ensure we maximise the use of government’s policy levers to put the UK at the forefront of the artificial intelligence and data revolution, maximise the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth, become a world leader in shaping the future of mobility, and harness the power of innovation to help the needs of an ageing society |
| Roll out our Sector Deals, which are partnerships between the government and industry aimed at increasing sector productivity |
1.3 Invest in science, research and innovation
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Develop our excellent science and research base and improve our ability to turn exciting ideas into strong commercial products and services to ensure that the UK can become the world’s most innovative economy |
| Work to increase investment in R&D across the economy to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, and work with industry to develop a roadmap to meet this target (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Ensure the UK continues to support world leading science and invests public money in the best possible way |
| Through UK Research and Innovation, a new single non-departmental public body, we will integrate the seven Research Councils, Innovate UK, and the research and knowledge exchange functions of the Higher Education Funding Council for England |
1.4 Support businesses to start and grow
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Update the UK’s business environment so it is equipped for the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies and new ways of doing business, making the UK the best place to start and grow a business, and a global draw for the most innovative companies |
| Drive productivity in businesses of all sizes by increasing collaboration, building skills and ensuring everyone has the opportunity of ‘good work’ and better, higher skilled jobs |
| Support high-growth innovative businesses to achieve their potential, through government’s action plan to drive over £20bn of investment into these businesses over the next 10 years, including by establishing a new £2.5bn investment fund incubated in the British Business Bank to be floated or sold once it has established a sufficient track record |
| Roll out a network of British Business Bank regional managers by autumn 2018 to ensure businesses across the UK know how to access sources of investment |
| Extend the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee to March 2022, expanding the programme to support up to £500m of loans a year |
| Conduct a review to understand how best we can help the UK’s least productive businesses to learn from, and catch-up with, the most productive |
1.5 Drive growth across the country
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to introduce Local Industrial Strategies and further strengthen local leadership through Local Enterprise Partnerships and Mayoral Combined Authorities |
| Work with MHCLG to introduce new policies to improve skills in all parts of the country, create more connected infrastructure, harness innovation strengths, ensure land is available for housing growth, and strengthen our cultural assets (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Work with the Department for Transport (DfT) to improve connectivity, reduce congestion and utilise new mobility services and technology |
Our performance
We are establishing an independent Industrial Strategy Council that will develop measures to assess and evaluate our Industrial Strategy. The Council will have access to relevant government data and will be funded to commission specific evaluation projects as appropriate. It will be drawn from leading business people, investors, economists and academics from across the UK. We expect to use the Council’s measures of success as the basis for reporting against the SDP. The Industrial Strategy Council will set performance measures in Autumn 2018.
2. Maximise investment opportunities and bolster UK interests as we leave the EU
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Andrew Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility
The Rt Hon Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead officials
Nick Chism, Director General, Enterprise
Sam Beckett, Director General, EU Exit and Analysis
2.1 Promote the interests of UK businesses and wider government interests in EU and Euratom Exit negotiations
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Promote the interests of UK businesses in our EU exit negotiations, seeking to build on the strengths we set out in our Industrial Strategy and to capitalise on the opportunities before us |
| Ensure that the UK is the go-to place for scientists, innovators and tech investors across the world. We intend to secure the right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union |
| Support the work of the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) to ensure the UK can maximise future trading opportunities with both the EU and the rest of the world and supports delivery of our Industrial Strategy |
| Support the delivery of the Export Strategy which aligns to the Industrial Strategy, including greater coordination and join up at the national and local levels |
| Work to maintain the greatest amount of certainty and stability in our existing trade and investment relationships for our businesses, citizens and trading partners |
| Support the development of ambitious proposals for new trade deals and effective arrangements for trade remedies that protect UK businesses from unfair trade practices |
| Through negotiations with the European Commission, seek a close association with Euratom and to maintain existing Euratom arrangements as part of the implementation period negotiated |
| Put in place all necessary measures to ensure that the UK can operate an independent nuclear safeguards regime once Euratom arrangements no longer apply to the UK |
2.2 Encourage inward investment
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Attract investment into the UK by identifying innovative solutions to emerging trends and challenges both in the UK and globally, delivering on our vision for the future economy. We will particularly seek to encourage new R&D investment, as set out in our Industrial Strategy |
| Ensure the UK embraces global trends that will shape our rapidly changing future and harness all the opportunities they bring. Each Grand Challenge, set out in the Industrial Strategy, represents an open invitation to business, academia and civil society to work together to ensure the UK seizes these opportunities |
| Continue to be flexible to developments in negotiations between the UK and the EU or changes in the global economy, while maintaining the principles of an open economy and fair competition that creates the conditions for businesses to thrive |
2.3 Work to ensure our economy is resilient and best placed to seize opportunities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Seize economic opportunities by providing targeted promotion and support for investors to increase investment into the UK |
| Prioritise local areas with the potential to drive wider regional growth, focusing on clusters of expertise and centres of economic activity |
| Improve resilience to economic shocks through early identification and mitigate risk through investigation of future trends and enhanced business intelligence |
| Provide an effective response to shocks through targeted contingency planning and coordination of interventions across the UK government |
2.4 Build the profile of the UK on the international stage
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure that the UK remains a world leader in science and innovation and continues to attract the brightest talent and collaborations around the world |
| Ensure that our Industrial Strategy is well understood globally and benefits from the experience of our international partners |
| Invest £300m over the next three years in growing and attracting world-class talent, including in priority areas aligned with the Industrial Strategy such as artificial intelligence, to enhance our skilled workforce and attract private sector research and development investment |
Our performance
Business investment in the UK
| Quarter | £ billion |
|---|---|
| October to December 2017 (revised results) | 46.2 |
| July to September 2017 (revised results) | 45.8 |
Source: Business investment in the UK data; release schedule: quarterly
Number of involved inward investment successes 1,859 2016/17
Source: DIT Annual Reports and Accounts 2017-2017; release schedule: annual
3. Promote competitive markets and responsible business practices
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Andrew Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility
The Rt Hon Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead official
Jaee Samant, Director General, Market Frameworks
3.1 Ensure businesses are run responsibly and transparently
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Develop and implement the measures announced in response to the consultation on the corporate governance green paper, working with the Financial Reporting Council, business and professional bodies |
| Bring forward measures to strengthen the corporate governance of companies in insolvency, and to improve safeguards for employees, suppliers and others in partnership with the Insolvency Service and Companies House |
| Encourage companies to adopt best practice in corporate reporting and responsibility as well as good business practice |
| Working with Companies House, continue to act to reduce opportunities for misuse of UK-registered companies and other legal entities, whilst ensuring the UK remains a great place for legitimate businesses to operate |
| Coordinate and support business-led initiatives to improve diversity in business leadership, including the Hampton-Alexander Review into FTSE Women Leaders, Sir John Parker’s review into ethnic diversity of boards, and Baroness McGregor-Smith’s review into race in the workplace |
3.2 Promote fairness in the labour market, improved working conditions and greater earning power for all
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Build on the recommendations of the Matthew Taylor Review to encourage ‘good work’, supporting the Industrial Strategy to sustain and improve employment practice as well as maintaining flexibility for the employer |
| Enhance opportunities for everyone to boost their earning power and progress in work, particularly those under-represented in the labour market, wherever they live and whatever their background |
| Encourage truly flexible employment options such as Shared Parental Leave, as well as working towards our ambition of the National Living Wage reaching 60% of median earnings by April 2020 |
| Act firmly to eliminate workplace exploitation and use all enforcement measures at our disposal to crack down on the labour market abuses practised by a small minority of employers (contributes to SDG 1) |
3.3 Ensure the UK has the right regulatory frameworks to help meet business and consumer needs
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Take forward measures from a consumer green paper that tackles areas where markets are not working for consumers and businesses |
| Strengthen protections for consumers against unsafe products by managing responses to large-scale product recalls and repairs through our new national oversight body, the Office for Product Safety and Standards |
| Publish a review of the existing competition regime by April 2019, to make sure it is working as effectively as it can to support an enterprise economy |
| The appointment of the Small Business Commissioner who will tackle unfair payment practices, supporting our goal to create an economy that works for all |
3.4 Safeguard UK interests in investments in national infrastructure
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver reforms to increase national security protections for critical infrastructure |
3.5 Reform regulatory approaches to support innovation and productivity
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Promote regulatory reform to support the Industrial Strategy, including through a new Ministerial Working Group on Future Regulation |
| Establish a new £10 million Regulators’ Pioneer Fund to help regulators to develop innovative approaches aimed at getting new products and services to market |
Our performance
National Living Wage as a proportion of median earnings 57.6% in April 2017
Source: National Minimum Wage, Low Pay Commission Report 2017
FTSE 350 board positions being held by women 24.5% as at October 2017
Source: Hampton-Alexander review; release schedule: annual
BAME Directors on Boards of FTSE 100 companies 8%
Source: Parker Review, 2017; release schedule: annual
4. Ensure the UK has a reliable, low cost and clean energy system
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth
Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Business and Industry
The Rt Hon Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead officials
Jeremy Pocklington, Director General, Energy and Security
Julian Critchlow, Director General, Energy Transformation and Clean Growth
4.1 Maximise the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth through the new Clean Growth Grand Challenge, and take action on climate change
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Encourage investment in low carbon technologies and the efficient use of resources to support delivery of our new Clean Growth Grand Challenge, seizing one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time - the move to cleaner economic growth |
| Work together with business, academia and civil society to deliver our Clean Growth Strategy, building on our already world-leading capabilities in areas including offshore wind, smart energy systems, sustainable construction and green finance. This will generate jobs and prosperity across the UK so the whole country benefits from low carbon economic opportunities (contributes to SDG 12) |
| Continue to support international action on climate change, while meeting our ambitious national targets (contributes to SDG 13) |
| Accelerate the growth of the heat networks market to help make it self-sustaining by investing £320 million of capital funding through the Heat Networks Investment Project |
4.2 Ensure that our energy system is reliable and secure
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure we maintain adequate energy capacity, for example through the annual operation of the capacity market, to guarantee that we can cope with unexpected peaks in demand and enable a reliable supply of electricity and gas |
| Make our electricity system smarter and more flexible, creating the right environment for more storage, demand side response, smart grids, and interconnection |
4.3 Deliver affordable energy for households and businesses
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Improve business energy productivity by at least 20% by 2030 by developing a package of measures to support businesses to improve their energy efficiency, as set out in our Clean Growth strategy |
| Ensure that every household and small business in the country has been offered a smart meter by the end of 2020 (contributes to SDG 7) |
| Protect the interests of customers, by bringing forward measures to help tackle unfair practices in the energy market to help reduce energy bills |
| Support the take-up of energy efficiency improvements in the owner-occupied, privately rented, and social housing sectors, with a view to as many homes as possible reaching Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2035 (contributes to SDG 12) |
4.4 Manage our energy legacy safely and responsibly
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver safe, cost effective and environmentally sensitive decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea, while making sure that the UK benefits from the job opportunities this will create |
| Work with and through the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to develop and deliver a robust plan for safe, cost effective, environmentally sensitive decommissioning of our civil nuclear waste through a geological disposal facility, creating jobs and opportunities for UK companies in the supply chain |
| Continually improve UK civil nuclear security and safety arrangements to ensure they are robust and effective, now and in the future |
| Ensure the ongoing safe and responsible management of our coal legacy, including administration of the concessionary fuel entitlements and personal injury claims for those previously involved in coal mining |
Our performance
Between 2011 to 2012 and 2016 to 2017 International Climate Fund programmes have:
- supported 34 million people to cope with the effects of climate change
- provided 12 million people with improved access to clean energy
- reduced or avoided 9.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (tCO2e)
- installed more than 400 MW of clean energy capacity
- mobilised £2.2 billion public and £500 million private finance for climate change purposes in developing countries
Source: Annual International Climate Fund results; results schedule: annual
Electricity generation from renewable sources
| Quarter | Percentage of electricity generated |
|---|---|
| Quarter 2, 2017 | 29.8% |
| Quarter 4, 2017 | 30.2% |
Source: Energy Trends Statistics; release schedule: quarterly
Annual Greenhouse Gas emission reporting against carbon budgets
468 MtCO2e 2016 total greenhouse gas emissions, meaning the UK was on track to meet the Second Carbon Budget (2,782 MtCO2e in 2013-17)
Source: 2016 Final estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions 1990-2016; release schedule: annual
Smart and advanced meters operating across homes and businesses in Great Britain
| Meters operating (by both large and small energy suppliers) | |
|---|---|
| Up until 30 December 2017 | 10.04 million |
| Up until 30 September 2017 | 8.61 million |
Source: Smart Meters Statistics; release schedule: quarterly
Percentage of peak demand that could still be met if the single largest piece of infrastructure fails
127%
Source: Statutory security of supply report: 2017; release schedule: bi-annual
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority targets completed or on track to complete
92 out of 113
Source: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Mid-Year Performance Report for 2017/18; release schedule: bi-annual
5. Building a flexible, innovative, collaborative and business facing department
Lead minister
Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Business & Industry
Lead officials
Sarah Harrison MBE, Director General, Corporate Services
Sam Beckett, Director General, EU Exit and Analysis
5.1 Elevate BEIS from a well-functioning department to an exceptional one which delivers for business on our strategic priorities in relation to the Industrial Strategy, EU exit, and clean growth
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Create a high performing and high impact department that delivers for business, consumers and workers |
| Ensure we use our resources efficiently to deliver Ministers’ strategic priorities, ensuring that resources are appropriately allocated and used effectively in the delivery of our priorities. Prioritise as necessary to maintain the affordability of spending plans within the funds made available by HM Treasury |
| Strengthen our understanding of business and its impact on citizens by drawing our people from all the communities we serve and ensuring that our workforce is respected for their diverse skills and expertise |
| Work collaboratively with our partner organisations to achieve our shared objectives through an understanding of each other’s policy and operational aims |
5.2 Deliver our people strategy to provide the capability to achieve our objectives
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver our workforce strategy to attract and retain people, and ensure we have the right people in the right roles at the right time |
| Improve organisational and individual capability and talent development through a learning and talent offer that provides opportunities for all our people to develop knowledge and skills in priority areas |
5.3 Enable digital, data and technology to deliver exceptional services for our staff as well as the people and businesses we serve
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Enable policy teams to harness data and technology in their work, be cost-effective, support policy outcomes and meet the needs of businesses and citizens |
| Work in partnership with Cabinet Office and the Government Digital Service to reduce operating costs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services |
| Ensure good Knowledge and Information Management supports our policy making, and that we handle and protect information responsibly |
5.4 Deliver a workspace and corporate services that support and enable BEIS to deliver its objectives
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide estate, support services and security that enable our ministers, policy teams, and partner organisations to deliver their objectives |
| Ensure that BEIS procurement promotes opportunities for UK-based small and medium enterprises, contributing to UK growth and government’s target that 33% of central government procurement spend goes to small and medium sized enterprises, directly or via the supply chain, by 2022 |
| Work cross-departmentally to reduce the government’s environmental impact, building on the progress we have made since 2010 |
Our performance
Civil Service People Survey employee engagement index
| Year | Employee engagement index |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 56% |
| 2016 | 54% |
Source: Civil Service People Survey; release schedule: annual
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
- To ensure that our policies are inclusive and help create an ‘economy that works for everyone’
- To systematically embed diversity and inclusion across all major decision-making processes including recruitment
- To build an inclusive culture, in line with our values: Brilliant, Enterprising, Inclusive, and Skilled
- To have a representative workforce at every level which feels valued and enabled to reach their full potential
- To work alongside our Partner Organisations to achieve these aims
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) - £12.7 billion
Resource DEL (including depreciation) - £1.9 billion
Capital DEL - £10.8 billion
Annually Managed Expenditure - £4.0 billion
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2018 to 2019 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2018 to 2019
An additional £185.1 million has been allocated to BEIS to support preparations for exiting the EU. This was announced alongside the Spring Statement 2018 and will be confirmed through the Supplementary Estimates 2018 to 2019.
Our people
As at 31 December 2017, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy had 3,140 full-time equivalent employees, not including its agencies.
Source: ONS Public sector employment data; release schedule: quarterly
How we contribute to cross-government priorities
We work across government on cross-cutting issues, including:
- Industrial Strategy
- Environment and clean growth
- Digital
- Immigration
- Employment and skills
- Housing
- Mental health
- Race disparity