The work of the Department for Business and Trade

Status / emerging findings

• IMF forecasts show UK tracking third in G7 growth through 2029, not first as government promised; government says it will outperform forecasts but has offered no mechanism to do so.
• Government announced £240 million in regulatory reforms in first month, targeting £1 billion by end of Parliament, but productivity growth remains 'anaemic' with no specific plan to reverse low investment trends.
• Energy costs identified as critical investment barrier (UK highest in Europe, sometimes double competitors); government committed £420 million to British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme and supercharger programme but timescales unclear.
• Committee pressed Secretary of State on contradiction: government claims to support growth while increasing business costs through national insurance and business rates; government defended measures as 'fixing foundations' but acknowledged timing tension.
• Trade strategy delayed pending industrial strategy publication; government rejected full EU regulatory convergence but confirmed sector-by-sector alignment, leaving policy direction unsettled.

Why it matters

The Department for Business and Trade is responsible for delivering the government's central economic promise; if growth targets are missed, public investment and public services funding depend on tax rises or cuts, making departmental strategy directly material to household and community outcomes.

Tone arc

First session (26 November) set defensive tone with government conceding structural challenges and third-place growth forecasts; second session (11 November) showed incremental shift toward tactical announcements (£240m reform target, energy investment) but committee maintained critical pressure on cost-growth contradiction and lack of measurable mechanisms.

Key witnesses

Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, former Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Gareth Davies CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business and Trade