10-Year Industrial Strategy Unveiled

THE INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY unveiled by the UK government today sets out a 10-year plan to boost investment, create skilled jobs and make Britain “the best place to do business”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer highlighted the strategy as a ‘turning point’ for the British economy, delivering long-term certainty for business through public investment across eight high-growth sectors — including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital and defence — underpinned by an £86bn R&D package.

Industrial Energy Costs

Central to its vision is addressing industrial energy costs. British manufacturers currently pay some of the highest electricity prices in the developed world.

The strategy includes plans to lower energy costs of thousands of businesses by exempting them from some green energy levies. From 2027, more than 7,000 manufacturing firms could see their electricity bills slashed by up to 25%. Network charge rebates from energy-intensive industries will also be significantly increased.

Details of which businesses are eligible and further details on the exemptions will be determined following a two-year consultation period.

The CPA, representing the UK’s £68.6bn construction products manufacturing sector, says it welcomes the “clarity and ambition” shown in the Strategy.

Peter Caplehorn, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, comments: “The CPA appreciates the proposed consultation on industrial electricity pricing and plans to increase rebates for eligible manufacturers from 60% to 90%. These measures could significantly improve competitiveness for UK-based producers, provided they are rolled out effectively and equitably across sectors.

“While the strategy highlights sectors such as advanced manufacturing and clean energy, the CPA strongly agrees with the government’s recognition of construction manufacturing as a ‘foundation sector’—underpinning the delivery of national priorities on infrastructure, decarbonisation, housing and economic growth. The Association emphasised that this acknowledgment must now be matched by full and consistent inclusion of construction products manufacturing in the strategy’s delivery frameworks, investment planning and cross-sector coordination.”

Accelerating Infrastructure

Investment in infrastructure is also critical. The strategy outlines measures to reduce planning timelines and cut costs for developers by hiring more planners, streamlining pre-application requirements and combining environmental obligations.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that housebuilding measures set out in the National Planning Policy Framework will add £6.8bn to the UK economy by 2029-30.

A 13-week target will be implemented for planning decisions to be made by Ministers on called-in applications to ensure decisions on high-priority developments like solar farms, data centres and housing, are being made speedily.

The government will also publish a pipeline of its priority infrastructure projects in summer 2025. Using the National Infrastructure Spatial Tool programme, the government says it is working to understand local infrastructure needs, based on housing, industrial growth and land use scenarios, to strengthen evidence for place-based infrastructure investment decisions.

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, comments: “With the UK Government setting itself an ambitious target of constructing 1.5 million new homes in England, any potential measures to help this ambition become a reality are likely to be welcome news for stakeholders.

“However, it is vital that other factors slowing down housebuilding in England are tackled head on, such as ensuring a skilled workforce and a robust supply chain are fully in place.

“There must also be an infrastructure-first approach and a sensible degree of local flexibility regarding planning decisions, which is why it is positive to see the Industrial Strategy refer to the need to improve the country’s infrastructure and it mentioned the UK government’s aim to establish a new National Housing Bank that will help develop financial support to mayors and local leaders responsible for delivering local housing.”

Skills Shortages

The strategy also aims to tackle longstanding skills shortages.

An extra £1.2 billion will be dedicated to upskilling per year by 2028-29, improving UK workers’ skills and reducing reliance on foreign workers. The skills package will include short courses funded by the Growth and Skills Levy in targeted areas such as defence, digital and engineering.

This builds on previous announcements including a £187m package for AI and digital training announced during London Tech Week and a £3bn apprenticeship fund to create places in construction, healthcare and carpentry.

Key Points

Other plans outlined in the Industrial Strategy include:

• ‘Revolutionising’ public procurement and reducing barriers for new entrants and SMEs to bolster domestic competitiveness.
• Unlocking billions in finance for innovative business, especially for SMEs by increasing British Business Bank financial capacity to £25.6bn.
• Boosting R&D spending to £22.6bn per year by 2029-30, with more than £2bn for AI over the Spending Review, and £2.8bn for advanced manufacturing over the next ten years.
• Attracting ‘elite’ global talent to key sectors via visa and migration reforms and the new Global Talent Taskforce.

• Cutting the administrative costs of regulation for business by 25% and reducing the number of regulators.
• Supporting 5,500 more SMEs to adopt new technology through the Made Smarter programme while centralising government support in one place through the Business Growth Service.

Download the full 160-page Industrial Strategy here.

INDUSTRY COMMENT

RICS CEO, Justin Young, said: “It is encouraging that the UK Government chose Foundational Industries, which is to say, those that produce materials such as steel, concrete and infrastructure parts for one of the eight key sectors in its industrial strategy. Challenges to supply chains, including material shortages and rising costs severely disrupt construction projects. It is also a positive step that the strategy places a focus on improving support for SMEs, which, according to RICS research, account for nearly a fifth of the UK’s construction industry and play a critical role in material production.

“It is nice to see that the Government intends to reduce industrial electricity costs. With UK electricity prices among the highest in Europe, this move will be vital to scale up both traditional industries like steel and glass and future sectors such as battery production and AI data centres. Investing in heat pump manufacturing, the £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan, and funding for CCUS projects demonstrates a commitment to reaching net zero.

“The crucial element of whether this new industrial strategy sinks or swims is how much it joins up with the infrastructure strategy announced last week. On this front, it is reassuring that the Government highlighted using the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for all eight key sectors, and we await the new set of national policies to guide planning decisions later this year.”

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Executive, said: “The government has set out a credible, long-term Industrial Strategy, which focuses on the areas of the economy where the UK can genuinely compete and win global market share. This sends a clear and positive signal—not just about the UK’s economic ambitions but also about the country’s global position and direction of travel for the next decade and beyond.

“The CBI has long been advocating for a comprehensive industrial strategy, based on the UK’s USP – the sectors and markets where we can compete to win on the global stage. Firms will welcome the acknowledgement of the integral role of foundational sectors in delivering growth and the strategy’s objectives.

“To ensure success, investors need to see the right conditions in place for the Industrial Strategy to truly deliver — and nothing matters more than competitive energy prices for our core industries and growth sectors, plus easier access to the talent they need to thrive.”

>> Read more of the latest roofing news