MAKE UK: Government eligibility rules risk shutting energy-intensive manufacturers out of support
09/11/2026 MAKE UK
Make UK is warning that energy-intensive manufacturers risk missing out on vital government support because of the eligibility rules for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS).
In a letter to Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, Make UK Chief Executive Stephen Phipson CBE has called for an urgent review of the scheme’s eligibility, warning that some manufacturers could otherwise be left without support until the proposed review in 2030.
The letter highlights the experience of Advance Tapes Group, a manufacturer based in Thurmaston employing 102 people and exporting more than 75% of its UK production.
Despite reducing its electricity consumption by 22% between 2021 and 2025, Advance Tapes saw its electricity bill rise by 52%, from approximately £342,000 to £518,000. Its average effective electricity cost increased from around 12p to 23p per kWh.
Yet the business appears largely excluded from BICS because most of its pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes do not fall within the scheme’s selected sector and product classifications.
Make UK Chief Executive Stephen Phipson CBE said:
“The Budget was the first real test of the Government’s pledge to reindustrialise Britain. We remain disappointed that it failed to address the underlying industrial energy costs holding back investment and growth in manufacturing.
“That makes it all the more important that the support available reaches manufacturers facing demonstrably high electricity costs. Yet the current British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) eligibility criteria risk excluding energy-intensive, internationally competitive businesses because of their sector or product classifications.
“I am urging the Business Secretary to review these criteria now and introduce a route through which individual manufacturers can demonstrate eligibility based on their actual electricity intensity and exposure to international competition.
“Without urgent action reindustrialisation will remain a political slogan rather than an economic reality.”
Make UK research shows 13% of manufacturers believe another energy price shock could prove terminal for their business.
The full letter is attached and published online here:
Make BICS work for manufacturers facing the highest energy costs, urges Make UK | Make UK
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MAKE UK
Broadway House
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London
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Email: PSwift@makeuk.org
Web: https://www.makeuk.org/
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