Theresa May’s promise to bolster Britain’s “world-leading” industries through a new industrial strategy was met with faint praise from business leaders amid claims it was little more than a sprawling discussion paper.

British Chambers of Commerce called the strategy a “first milestone” while UK Steel described it as an “important first step”.

Launching the discussion document on Monday, the prime minister promised to tackle the UK’s poor labour productivity, improve access to capital and cultivate “world-leading” sectors.

Mrs May sees her industrial strategy as a way to prove her government is focused on a reformist policy agenda despite the distraction of Brexit.

But many of the initiatives within the 132-page paper were a recap of existing government programmes, initiatives and funding streams.

The green paper contained some new policies, including a review aimed at cutting the cost of cutting carbon in the power and industrial sectors. That is likely to include reductions in subsidies for offshore wind energy.

There will also be a Cabinet Office review into whether some government agencies and “cultural institutions” should be relocated to help reinforce “local clusters”. The paper suggested ministers would develop a more strategic approach to inward investment and work with behavioural insight experts to identify potential exporters.

The reaction from business leaders to the green paper was politely lukewarm. Terry Scuoler, head of the EEF, the trade body for manufacturing companies, said: “The jury is still out.” He said its main significance was that it was spearheaded by the prime minister.

The 10 pillars ● Investing in science, research and innovation

● Developing skills

● Upgrading digital, energy, transport, water and flood defence infrastructure

● Ensuring businesses can access the finance and management skills they need to grow

● Improving government procurement

● Encouraging trade and inward investment

● Delivering affordable energy and moving to a low-carbon economy

● Cultivating world-leading sectors

● Driving growth across the whole country

● Creating the right institutions to bring together sectors and places

Research by Ipsos Mori — who interviewed 114 board members at the top 500 UK companies by turnover — found that only a third thought new industrial policies would encourage growth.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI, said it was better to have an industrial strategy than not given that state spending accounted for 43 per cent of gross domestic product. “We need to have a plan of how we invest that money,” she said.

Mrs May’s strategy is only the latest in a long line of government attempts to influence British business over the decades. Greg Clark, business secretary, said the government would try to help “new and growing enterprises” unlike the flawed plans of the 1970s, which propped up existing industries. “Too often they became strategies of incumbency,” he said.

Mrs May had promised a new industrial strategy last summer when she stood for the leadership of the Conservative party. Since then the government has pledged up to £5bn a year of new industrial investment by 2020: including the biggest increase in research and development funding since 1979.

But the concept is not new: in 2014, for example, the business department set out how its existing industrial strategy was already up and running.

Clive Lewis, Labour’s shadow business secretary, welcomed the broad thrust of the document but said it was thin on detail. “Unless the government puts a lot of flesh on these bones, this will be a strategy of spin rather than substance.”

Iain Wright, the Labour MP chairing the business select committee, said he welcomed the concept of a long-term strategy but said the paper had “no real vision” and was a “mishmash of mostly existing policies.”

Mrs May said companies would be encouraged to strike sector-wide deals to target opportunities in return for looser regulations or help with exports. She has appointed champions for industries ranging from life sciences to ultra-low-emission vehicles.

They include Jürgen Maier, chief executive of Siemens UK, who will carry out a review of “industrial digitisation”.

“When Industrie 4.0 [Germany’s industrial internet initiative] was launched it was done by the German chancellor,” said Mr Maier. “This strategy [in the UK] has now got the full buy-in of the prime minister’s office, the Treasury and the department for business . . . which to me means it is much more serious.”

Ministers will provide £170m to set up “institutes of technology” across the country to deliver high-level training in Stem subjects — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There will also be an expansion of maths education in secondary schools.

Additional reporting: Peter Campbell and Gill Plimmer