There have been some important announcements in recent weeks about the Industrial, Infrastructure, and Trade Strategies. The latest strategy: a Small Business Plan is designed to make life easier for small businesses and start-ups. 

Industrial Strategy

The government published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy on 23 June.

This is one element in a suite of strategies, including others covering infrastructure and trade which together form what the government believes will be the platform on which growth can be delivered. The strategy has a lot in it and is a mixture of relatively broad aspirations and quite specific actions.

It is helpful that there is a commitment to monitoring and evaluating as the strategy is implemented and to making any necessary changes that may be needed. 

Some clear features emerge: 

• a focus on eight key sectors (known as the IS-8)
• the importance of place 
• the role of Mayors and Combined Authorities.  

In light of this we believe at Essex Chambers it is imperative that a Mayoral Authority is established in 2026 in Essex. An Essex ‘Plan for Growth’ should follow – and that will in effect be the Essex version of the key national strategies, including this one.  

Infrastructure Strategy

The Infrastructure Strategy is a 10-year plan with a £725bn price tag attached. It is long-term in nature and covers both economic and social infrastructure for the first time, recognising that schools and hospitals are just as vital to living standards as road and rail. 

It is ambitious – with the upcoming online Infrastructure Pipeline, setting out the full range of projects to be taken forward. This will support the government’s Industrial Strategy and is expected to deliver the long-term certainty businesses need, unlocking the potential of the highest-growth sectors and the places where they are concentrated. 

The government anticipates that together these plans will be an enormous stimulus for British workers and British firms, creating well-paid jobs in every corner of the UK. The government has committed to work with businesses and delivery partners to implement this strategy, holding itself accountable by reporting on progress every two years.

Trade Strategy

The government’s new Trade Strategy seeks to get to grips with the current uncertainty and turbulence in international trading conditions and chart a way through them.  

It talks about Free Trade Agreements (such as the recent one agreed with India) but also acknowledges new ways of achieving trade objectives such as the deal with the US, which it describes as the “opening of a conversation rather than its conclusion” and somewhat more tightly drawn around some more obvious areas of mutual economic agreement. There is a commitment to flexibility in approach, according to what will achieve the best results for the UK economy and its trading position.

As with the Industrial and Infrastructure Strategies, which it is designed to complement, there are some specific measures and funding commitments with more to be announced.

Small Business Plan

Some actions to help tackle the problem of late payments and more assistance to start-ups are among the measures included in the government’s new announcement on supporting small businesses. At the time of writing this has not been published, more information will be circulated in the next Policy Update once details emerge.

If you have any questions about the Strategies and the impact they’ll have on your business, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Head of Policy, Iain McNab.