Written statement: British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme - July 8

Minister for Industry (Chris McDonald): The Government is continuing to make progress on delivering its Industrial Strategy through publication of the response to a consultation on regulatory changes and scheme delivery for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS).

BICS is the flagship policy of the Industrial Strategy that will address Britain's longstanding competitiveness challenge in manufacturing. The policy will support heavy industry, advanced manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains.

Following the recent consultation, the Government confirms that it will proceed with planned changes to the Renewables Obligation (RO), Capacity Market (CM) and Feed in Tariffs (FIT) to implement BICS.

The consultation response also confirms key aspects of scheme delivery, including certificate length, application windows, further eligibility requirements and an update on the delivery of the additional payment announced in April. These measures will help ensure that BICS delivers the greatest possible impact for businesses in Great Britain.

The Government will shortly be announcing the launch of an online eligibility checker tool. This simple, free-to-use tool will allow businesses to input basic information and receive an indication of their likely eligibility for BICS. It will be accompanied by comprehensive business guidance.

To support the timely introduction of BICS, legislation will be laid before Parliament in the Autumn. Applications will open on the 1^st of October and close on the 30^th November for year one of the scheme. Eligible businesses will receive support from April 2027, subject to applying within this window.

I encourage Honourable Members to engage stakeholders in their constituencies to raise awareness of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme and to invite businesses to use the eligibility checker in the coming weeks to assess their likely eligibility and then apply when applications open in October.