Sector Development Framework Benchmarking

Summary

The Government has recognised the role mayoral combined authorities across England will have in realising its mission to increase growth across the country. It has asked local leaders to produce 'Local Growth Plans' for their areas setting out regional contributions to the national mission. The plans represent strategic partnerships between central government and combined authorities to identify priorities for growth and will be aligned to the Modern National Industrial Strategy launching later this year. The West of England plan will be a locally owned, 10-year strategy which will set out how the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) will use its devolved powers and funding to drive growth in the region. It will build on the region's unique strengths and opportunities to support growth-driving sectors, identify wider business environment priorities, and provide a framework to focus and unlock investment. Our region's Local Growth Plan (LGP) will need to relate to Government's thinking around priority sectors set out in the National Industrial Strategy green paper and its emerging sector plans. While many of the strengths in the West of England align with the sectors in the green paper, the economy in the MCA is highly interrelated and relies to a significant extent on cross-sectoral spill overs. In collaboration with Government, our Priority Sectors are defined as - 1. Advanced Manufacturing (our regional AM growth markets being aerospace, space, advanced materials, defence, auto/propulsion, robotics and the supply chains of these subsectors) 2. Clean Energy Industries (our regional CEI growth markets being nuclear, wind, low carbon fuels (esp hydrogen), decarbonisation) 3. Digital and Technology (our regional D&T growth markets being quantum, AI, semiconductors, future telecoms, engineering biology and digital, creative tech) We also identified Creative industries (including strengths in virtual reality; media production; gaming) as an additional Key Sector that is regionally significant in its ability to support growth and to bolster overall national capability. Targeted sector support is by no means new to the MCA, whether primarily focussed on high economic growth or on our wider regional priorities. Sector focus is a clear theme of our overarching West of England Strategic Framework, West of England Plan for Innovation, and West of England Digital Plan. It enables and informs the MCA's delivery of a diverse and cross-cutting portfolio including skills support, business support, inward investment, nature recovery and climate resilience. The MCA's sector development is led by its Economy & Skills Directorate's inward investment and sector development service, with input from other directorates and with significant engagement of stakeholders across the innovation cluster. The MCA is currently planning the resourcing of that service beyond March 2026.