HM Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade have published a ministerial letter commissioning the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council for the year ahead. Signed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and dated 2 December 2025, it places the council’s programme within the ten‑year Industrial Strategy published in June 2025. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-letter-on-the-industrial-strategy-advisory-council))
Ministers set three workstreams. First, labour markets and skills: ISAC is asked to support sector ‘Jobs Plans’ (the workforce strategies for the eight priority sectors) and to participate in the cross‑government Labour Market Evidence Group with the Migration Advisory Committee, Skills England, the Department for Work and Pensions and devolved counterparts. Two discussion papers are commissioned, including options by summer 2026 to lift employer investment in skills. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
For Jobs Plans, the council is expected to advise on critical occupations across the IS‑8 sectors and test whether employer commitments are credible and deliverable, while allowing time for immigration policy to adjust. Meeting minutes from September 2025 underscore the intent to complement Skills England’s wider workforce work and strengthen the evidence base for sector teams. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
Second, monitoring and evaluation: departments will conduct evaluations of their own interventions, with ISAC overseeing coherence and advising on delivery. Tasks include supporting DBT and HMT on implementation, providing independent intelligence on sector and cluster developments, refining the strategy’s ‘impact pathway’ to link interventions to outcomes, and advising on long‑term data improvements. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
Third, market dynamism: the council will act as strategic advisers to a cross‑government project tackling barriers to disruptive business models, starting with clean energy and defence, and report by April 2026. There is a place‑based component, with work alongside DBT, HMT and the local government department (referred to in the letter as MHCLG) on measures to boost high‑growth firms and labour mobility in clusters. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
Governance and outputs are tightly specified. ISAC should share discussion papers first with DBT and HMT and consult both departments on any publication plans. A public report is due within 12 months of the letter-by 2 December 2026-covering project summaries, engagement findings, secretariat research updates and a forward look at milestones, rather than an annual impact scorecard. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
The correspondence is addressed to Dame Clare Barclay as chair and Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell as deputy chair. The council convened in December 2024 and, after the Industrial Strategy’s publication in June 2025, signalled a shift to monitoring delivery and building the evidence base for policy. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-advisory-council-meeting-minutes-17-december-2024/17-december-2024-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-meeting-minutes?utm_source=openai))
The Industrial Strategy sets a ten‑year plan built around eight growth‑driving sectors-advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services-with delivery tracked through regular updates. ISAC’s commission is designed to sustain momentum across these sectors. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy?utm_source=openai))
For employers and sector bodies, this points to near‑term requirements: prepare credible, time‑bound workforce commitments for Jobs Plans; assemble evidence on skills pipelines and training co‑investment; and anticipate targeted engagement on regulatory barriers in clean energy and defence. Local leaders should expect structured engagement on cluster‑specific constraints and data needs as part of the place‑based work. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))
Key dates now in scope are April 2026 for initial market‑dynamism advice, summer 2026 for recommendations on increasing employer investment in skills, and 2 December 2026 for the first public report. Ministers may issue further commissions during the year as capacity allows. ([assets.publishing.service.gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696794513eea543d3e7034dc/letter-from-chancellor-and-business-secretary-industrial-strategy-advisory-council-mandate.pdf))