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Made significant progress creating the optimum environment to back more ambitious businesses to innovate and scale internationally – strengthening our capability, capacity and ways of working to support more companies more effectively.

During this period, we focused on mobilising the Customer Engagement delivery team by establishing governance foundations, strengthening leadership oversight, and building clearer direction on skills, processes, culture and decision-making. This work will be underpinned by a modern digital engagement platform, for which the scope has been defined and the business case approved.

Our 2025/26 priorities focused on clarifying consistent, future-focused expectations for leadership roles ahead of introducing an enhanced strategic workforce planning approach. This is essential to strengthening our focus on talent and performance, and it has enabled each business area to identify critical skills and succession needs now and for the future.