Parliament has enacted the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. The Act raises statutory ceilings for selective financial assistance (SFA) and for UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) portfolio, and re-denominates export finance limits in sterling. It takes effect two months after Royal Assent. (en.wikipedia.org)
Section 1 amends section 8(5) of the Industrial Development Act 1982. The aggregate limit on SFA rises from £12,000 million to £20 billion, with the maximum uplift by order increased from £1,000 million to £1.5 billion. The underlying power remains exercisable with HM Treasury consent, preserving fiscal control while expanding available headroom. (bills.parliament.uk)
Section 2 modifies section 6 of the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991. The main commitment limit for arrangements relating to exports and insurance is now £160 billion, replacing the previous 82,700 million special drawing rights (SDR). Future increases may be made by draft affirmative statutory instrument in increments not exceeding £15 billion. The separate ‘three occasions’ restriction is confined to the section 6(3) limit following a targeted amendment to subsection (4A). The Act also clarifies that equivalences may be determined in sterling or SDR for conversion purposes. (bills.parliament.uk)
The Department for Business and Trade and UKEF state in the Explanatory Notes that the IDA change is an inflationary adjustment and that the EIGA revision provides operational headroom. In 2024/25 UKEF issued around £14.5 billion of support to 667 businesses, which was estimated to support up to 70,000 jobs and contribute up to £5.4 billion to UK GDP. (bills.parliament.uk)
Parliament previously approved three orders in November 2024 that raised UKEF’s statutory ceiling by 15 billion SDR overall to 82.7 billion SDR. The 2026 Act now expresses the limit in pounds, simplifying statutory references while maintaining portfolio reporting and risk management requirements. (hansard.parliament.uk)
The Act also removes section 12(2) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, which had earlier recast section 6(1) of the 1991 Act in SDR terms. This technical clean-up aligns the statute book with the new sterling-based ceiling and updated order‑making power. (bills.parliament.uk)
For context, the Explanatory Notes restate the policy tests for selective financial assistance under section 8 of the 1982 Act: expected benefit to the UK economy, national interest at the proposed scale and form, and that the assistance cannot appropriately be provided otherwise than by the Secretary of State. These tests continue to govern SFA awards notwithstanding the higher ceiling. (bills.parliament.uk)
The measures were presented in the Commons as necessary to ensure UKEF has the resources to underpin export growth, with ministers citing proximity to previous statutory limits and the need to maintain support for businesses across the UK. Parliamentary scrutiny remains via the affirmative procedure for any future increases to the £160 billion cap. (hansard.parliament.uk)
The Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and commences at the end of two months beginning with the day it is passed-giving an effective date of 18 May 2026. It may be cited as the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Act 2026. (bills.parliament.uk)
Policy Wire analysis: Denominating the UKEF ceiling in sterling should simplify monitoring of available headroom by removing routine SDR conversions in statute, while the amendment to section 6(5)(e) retains flexibility to calculate equivalents when commitments are measured in other currencies. The targeted change to subsection (4A) allows future increases to the main £160 billion limit without the previous ‘three occasions’ constraint, subject to affirmative approval. (bills.parliament.uk)