The chancellor has said he will revive the government’s industrial strategy.
Jeremy Hunt and business secretary Grant Shapps will bring forward a more detailed vision for supporting growth areas following last week’s Autumn Statement.
Hunt identified five growth industries – digital, life sciences, green technology, financial services and advanced manufacturing – and announced plans for investment zones around universities.
They are now expected to produce details of investment incentives and regulatory changes, and may reconstitute the advisory panel that was dismantled by Kwasi Kwarteng when he was business secretary.
Kwarteng wrote to its 16 members, led by former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane, saying that Boris Johnson’s government had “decided to mark a departure from the industrial strategy brand”.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves pointed out that there had already been seven strategies in 12 years.
