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3 December 2025: Industrial Strategy Advisory Council meeting minutes

Published 26 January 2026

The tenth meeting of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC) took place in-person at the University of Manchester on Wednesday 3 December 2025.

It was chaired by Dame Clare Barclay DBE and attended by:

• council members
• senior officials
• the secretariat of the ISAC

The Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation joined the meeting for items 1 and 2 of the agenda.

1. 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
• Tunde Olanrewaju CBE
• Henrik L. Pedersen
• Kate Bell
• Roy Rickhuss CBE
• Phil Smith CBE (ex-officio)
• Chris Grigg CBE (ex-officio)

2. Ministers

• Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, Blair McDougall

3. Officials

• Anna Valero, Chancellor’s Industrial Strategy Adviser, HM Treasury (HMT)
• Kalada Bruce-Jaja – Director, Industrial Strategy, Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
• Leonie Lambert – Director, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, DBT
• Jonathan Bateman – Chief Analyst, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, DBT
• Rachel Richards – Deputy Director, Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat, DBT

4. Apologies

• Professor Dame Diane Coyle DBE
• Greg Jackson CBE

5. Agenda Item 1: Industrial Strategy delivery

1. The minister welcomed the Council’s support in driving delivery and holding government to account.

2. Kalada Bruce-Jaja provided an update on implementation of the Industrial Strategy (IS) and the trajectory of delivery over the next 5 years.

3. Members emphasised the need to focus on delivering the IS commitments at pace, focusing on priority outcomes such as investment and job creation, and demonstrating measurable progress.

4. The importance of clear communication to industry and the public about the achievements and impact of the Industrial Strategy was emphasised.

6. Agenda Item 2: IS priorities

1. The Council discussed the challenges and opportunities for supporting scale-ups. Members highlighted the need for scale-ups to be able to access appropriate finance and for the government to consider how public procurement can support innovation and growth.

2. The Council discussed the importance of focusing on specific, high-impact interventions rather than broad, generic support, and the need for evidence of return on investment.

7. Agenda Item 3: ISAC year one: projects discussion

7.1 Project One: skills

1. The Council discussed progress with their work on skills, including as part of the Labour Market Evidence Group (LMEG).

2. The Council discussed the need for regional data on skills gaps and for interventions to have a place lens to meet on-the-ground needs. The Council also highlighted the need for jobs plans for IS sectors to be flexible and able to respond to current and future technological disruption, for example arising from artificial intelligence (AI).

7.2 Project Two: market dynamism – disruptive business models

1. The Council discussed progress with the project, including roundtables with industry and academia focusing on unlocking barriers to disruption to drive market dynamism.

2. Members noted the challenge of balancing support for disruptive businesses with the need for evidence of impact and return on investment.

3. The Council agreed to continue developing case-studies and to focus on areas where government intervention has the greatest impact.

4. The Chair closed the meeting and thanked Members for their contributions.