16 June 2026: Industrial Strategy Advisory Council meeting minutes
Published 22 July 2026
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The 12th meeting of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council took place in person at Sky Watermark in Scotland on Tuesday 16 June 2026.
Members
- Dame Clare Barclay DBE – chair
- Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell DBE – deputy chair
- Dr Aislinn Rice
- The Rt Hon Greg Clark
- Professor Henry Overman OBE
- Kate Bell
- Roy Rickhuss CBE
- Amelia Gould CEng FIET
- Dana Strong CBE
- Greg Jackson CBE
- Keith Anderson
- Professor Dame Diane Coyle DBE
- Tunde Olanrewaju CBE
- Phil Smith CBE (ex-officio)
- Chris Grigg CBE (ex-officio)
Senior civil servants attending
- Leonie Lambert – Director, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, Department of Business and Trade (DBT)
- Kalada Bruce-Jaja – Director, Industrial Strategy Unit, DBT
- Jonathan Bateman – Chief Analyst, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, DBT
- Rachel Richards – Deputy Director, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, DBT
Apologies
Henrik Pedersen
Agenda item 1: people and skills project
The council discussed findings from its work on employer engagement in the skills system. This included reviewing draft material from its report on options to support increased employer investment in skills.
The discussion highlighted:
- the complexity of the skills system
- the mismatch between graduate skills and employer demand
- the importance of institutions in supporting communication between government and industry, and future skills needs
Members noted the council’s recent work as part of the Labour Market Evidence Group.
Agenda item 2: annual report and monitoring and evaluation
The council discussed its approach to producing its annual report, including potential areas on which it could make forward-looking recommendations to government.
The discussion considered the measures of success for the Industrial Strategy and the evidence required to make robust assessments.
Agenda item 3: council reflections
The council discussed a range of current issues and intelligence related to the Industrial Strategy. These included:
- the state of the economy
- the further education system
- infrastructure and resilience
- migration
- future skills needs
- communicating the Industrial Strategy to businesses
- stakeholder feedback
Agenda item 4: update from the government
Kalada Bruce-Jaja provided an update on progress in delivering the Industrial Strategy.
Agenda item 5: future priorities
The council discussed potential priorities for its next programme of work. These included:
- regulation
- technology adoption
- skills
- cross-government coordination
- the pace of policy delivery
- economic resilience
The discussion considered the balance between delivering short-term advisory work and longer-term research projects.
Members reflected on the role of artificial intelligence and how government could use it more effectively.
Agenda item 6: place and business dynamism project
The council discussed emerging findings from its work on boosting business dynamism in places across the UK.
The discussion highlighted the importance of long-term institutional alignment, governance and infrastructure investment.
The chair closed the meeting and thanked members for their contributions.