Department for Business and Trade

The contract in question was called off in 2022 from the Crown Services Framework, RM6123 Media Services, which requires suppliers to consider social value policy themes, and to support contracting authorities to deliver priorities relating to delivering a diverse supply chain. That is why a KPI for social value (specifically, promoting diversity, inclusion & social mobility in attraction recruitment) was set at ‘33% multicultural representation by year 2 (media industry avg. 18.7%).

UK Export Finance is currently reprocuring the contract under updated legislation, with revised key performance indicators.

For the purposes of this key performance indicator, the supplier uses self-identification of participants across a range of ethnicities.

From April 2026, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the government has introduced £4.3 billion transitional support package, to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases.

The government and Ofgem are taking decisive action to inform and protect non-domestic energy consumers as well as improving access to redress when issues occur. Later this year, we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities. These measures will provide meaningful, long-term support to garden centres, including those in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.

The Department recognises the importance of ride-hailing platforms to the UK transport industry and continues to monitor published research and correspondence on employment practices in the sector.

Commission arrangements are a contractual arrangement between the driver and employer. Where a driver is classified as a worker or employee, the employer must comply with employment law, ensuring that drivers receive at least the National Minimum Wage and paid holiday.

The Government encourages platforms to operate fairly and is taking steps through its Plan to Make Work Pay, including a consultation on employment status and the establishment of the Fair Work Agency.

Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

We can confirm that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) hold the following information:

DBT

UKEF

*5 or less instances have been suppressed to ensure anonymity.

The UK product safety regime places responsibilities on manufacturers and importers to assess any risks their products may pose and ensure consumer products, including imports, are safe before being placed on the market. No level of asbestos is permitted in consumer products in the UK and where non-compliant products have been identified the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Local Authority Trading Standards, have acted quickly to ensure recalls are undertaken.

The government acknowledges the important contribution of independent garden centres, which frequently differentiate themselves through expert advice, product quality, and a wider range of horticultural services.

The government recognises that competition between different retail formats can present both opportunities and challenges for businesses. Pricing and product range decisions are commercial matters for individual retailers, operating within a competitive market. We support a competitive retail environment that benefits consumers while ensuring markets operate fairly, and the Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for addressing any concerns about anti‑competitive behaviour.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of garden centres on local employment and skills training. However, garden centres operate across retail and horticulture and can benefit from the government’s wider support for workforce development.

This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. That is why in March we announced almost £1bn in funding taking total investment to £2.5bn to further expand the Youth Guarantee over the next 3 years. This will fund an expansion of the Jobs Guarantee scheme to include 22–24-year-olds, hiring incentives for employers recruiting young people on Universal Credit at risk of long-term unemployment, and incentives for SMEs recruiting apprentices. This will unlock nearly 200,000 opportunities for young people to start work or an apprenticeship. To support smaller businesses, we are introducing a new £2,000 incentive when non-levy payers take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.

This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector.

We continue to engage extensively with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade measure on 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses.

The annual financial reports for the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry are available on their website: https://www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk. The total spend outlined in these reports up to 31^st March 2025, plus recent spend for 2025/26 (subject to final financial year closure), is £80 million. Updated costs for 2025/26 will be published in due course.

In addition, DBT funds Post Office’s costs of engaging with activities necessary of a core participant of the statutory Inquiry, such as legal representation and disclosure costs. As of 31^st March 2026 the total spend for this is £134m, subject to final financial year closure. While the Department can clearly identify these direct costs of running the Inquiry, it is not possible to separately quantify the cost of departmental participation. Related expenditure, including staff time and legal support, sits within wider departmental budgets and is not recorded on a stand‑alone basis.

The government’s Steel Strategy sets out our ambition to see much more UK-made steel used across public and private projects, whilst respecting our legal obligations.

For central government procurement, it is now a requirement that UK made steel is considered, as procurers must consult a digital catalogue of UK made steel products before making decisions. We also publish a steel pipeline annually, which provides a signal to the market by highlighting future opportunities in central government projects.

For offshore wind projects, we have reformed the Clean Industry Bonus to create new incentives for manufacturers to invest in UK steel in domestic wind turbines and wind farms.

We continue to work with other government departments to identify more opportunities for the use of UK made steel.

While the Department does not produce constituency-level assessments of business confidence, government closely monitors business confidence across the hospitality sector.

We have introduced targeted support measures to strengthen the sector’s resilience. These include permanently reduced business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, a substantial enhancement of the Hospitality Support Fund, initiatives to streamline regulatory requirements, and progress on licensing reform toward a new National Licensing Policy Framework. This framework is designed to offer greater flexibility for pubs and hospitality venues, enabling them to prosper.

The Cabinet Office publishes official Freedom of Information (FOI) statistics for all monitored central government bodies, including the Department for Business and Trade, as part of its regular Government FOI Statistics series. These statistics are available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

FOI statistics for 2023 and 2024 are currently available online through this collection. The 2025 FOI statistics are scheduled to be published in April 2026.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with Inovyn on the issues facing the operation of their salt plant at Runcorn. I have exchanged correspondence with the Hon Member for Runcorn and Helsby on the matter earlier this year.

As set out in the recently published steel strategy, UK steel producers that benefit from British Industry Supercharger support and the current Network Charging Compensation scheme paid industrial electricity prices of £93 per MWh in 2025 (a 60% relief). The increase in compensation for network charges from 60% to 90%, which was announced in the Industrial Strategy and implemented from 1 April 2026, will reduce electricity prices for steel producers by a further £7 to £10 per MWh approximately.

The equivalent cost faced by industrial electricity users in France and Germany is £69/MWh and £60/MWh respectively. Using average electricity intensity factors for electric arc furnace-based steel production, the difference to UK producers equates to approximately £8-£13 per tonne of crude steel.

The Government is aware of the pressures facing the ceramics industry. Department for Business and Trade (DBT) officials regularly engage with ceramics businesses and the sector’s main trade association, Ceramics UK, to explore how the sector can be supported. DBT remains aware of issues, including pressure from foreign imports, and has worked with the sector and the Trade Remedies Authority to help address this issue. The Government encourages Ceramics UK and ceramics businesses to continue engaging with government to ensure that DBT officials have a clear understanding of the challenges facing ceramics businesses, and the pottery sector specifically.

The Government keeps UK export controls under constant review and export control legislation, including Schedule 2 of the Export Control Order 2008, is updated on a regular basis to remain compliant with our national and international obligations and commitments.

Schedule 2 of the Export Control Order principally derives from the UK's international commitments under the Wassenaar Arrangement on conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, and thereby reflects the discussions and agreements reached with relevant partners. Any change would need therefore to be agreed internationally.

The UK's Export Control regime is one of the most transparent in the world. Since this Government came into office, we have ensured publications of export licensing information are as timely as possible in order to aid public and Parliamentary scrutiny.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) publishes a significant amount of information. This includes quarterly and annual statistics on export and trade control licensing decisions and supporting tools such as the publicly searchable database of licensing data. We have also periodically published additional information releases relating to specific exports and destinations, to support public and parliamentary scrutiny.

All companies seeking to export military or dual-use goods are subject to the export control requirements set out in the Export Control Order 2008 and accompanying guidance. All licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) regularly correspond with exporters on their export licensing requirements. It is not the regular practice of the Department to publicise details of discussions with specific exporters in view of potential commercial sensitivities.

Yes. Even a cursory internet search will show that we publish extensive guidance on the UK’s export control regime on GOV.UK. This includes information on the regulatory framework for strategic export controls, our lists of controlled items and the circumstances where exporters might need an export licence. There is also a ‘Goods Checker’ tool which exporters can use to establish if their items are controlled.

If exporters are still in any doubt about the classification of their goods they can use the Control List Classification Service where specialists in the Export Control Joint Unit will provide a formal advisory classification against the UK control lists. Finally, an exporter should submit an application using our LITE system if they suspect an export licence may be required. We will assess the control status of the goods, and any relevant sanctions measures in place.

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are an important component of DBT’s approach to supporting businesses across the UK to grow and export, benefits include tariff reductions, simplification of customs procedures, and enhanced protections for investment. DBT’s support for business on FTAs is integrated into the existing export support offer accessed via business.gov.uk. This includes practical guides on the provisions of FTAs and a range of engagement. For example, recent events to promote the upcoming UK-India FTA focusing on sectors such as textiles and manufacturing. DBT also engages directly with businesses to gather feedback on how FTAs are working in practice.

My Department is monitoring the situation, and is in regular contact with stakeholders, including through our partnership with the Construction Leadership Council, which I co-chair.

The Construction Leadership Council’s Material’s Supply Chain Group, in March 2026, noted the main disruption to the sector from the Middle East crisis is the rapid rise in energy prices and their immediate impact on material costs, particularly for products with energy-intensive manufacturing processes or derived from oil-based raw materials.

Ministers are being kept updated on the supply chain disruption (and impacts) as part of our cross Whitehall monitoring.

My Department is monitoring the situation, and is in regular contact with stakeholders, including through our partnership with the Construction Leadership Council, which I co-chair.

The Construction Leadership Council’s Material’s Supply Chain Group, in March 2026, noted the main disruption to the sector from the Middle East crisis is the rapid rise in energy prices and their immediate impact on material costs, particularly for products with energy-intensive manufacturing processes or derived from oil-based raw materials.

Ministers are being kept updated on the supply chain disruption (and impacts) as part of our cross Whitehall monitoring.

The Government recognises that a successful Rolls‑Royce entry into the single‑aisle aircraft market could deliver significant UK economic benefits, including high‑value jobs and growth across the aerospace supply chain.

Rolls‑Royce is a major UK employer and longstanding Government partner. We are providing support to Rolls-Royce and its supply chain for technology development through the ATI Programme. This will secure UK jobs, skills and long‑term manufacturing, while delivering value for money for taxpayers.

This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector.

The steel trade measure has been designed to addresses the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity, which undermines the viability of UK steelmaking and, in turn, our critical national infrastructure and defence.

We have carefully balanced the needs of producers and downstream industry, and the product scope of the measure reflects this. This has involved extensive engagement with downstream industry, and we will review the measure after 12 months.

The Government is aware of the pressure on ceramics businesses created by high energy prices, and that the gas-intensive nature of the majority of ceramics businesses means they do not currently qualify for the Government’s electricity price support schemes, the British Industry Supercharger and Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme. I encourage the ceramics sector to engage with the reviews of these schemes when the opportunities arise. Officials are aware of the challenges faced by individual ceramics manufacturers, including Denby Pottery, and continue to monitor developments closely through regular engagement with the sector’s main trade association, Ceramics UK.

The Economic Crime Acts 2022 and 2023 established and strengthened the UK’s Register of Overseas Entities, which requires overseas entities owning UK land to disclose their beneficial owners. Since launching in 2022, over 33,000 entities have registered. The Companies House Strategic Intelligence Assessment (2024) found it is almost certain that the register has reduced the ability to hide beneficial ownership of UK property and improve transparency for law enforcement. Non‑compliant entities are also prevented from selling, leasing or raising finance over UK land. The Government is currently reviewing the legislation’s impact and will publish findings once complete.

Our analysis demonstrates that the Act is more likely to help more people into work than reduce employment. Making work more attractive and accessible to a wider range of people, such as those with caring responsibilities or health conditions, can help more people enter or return to the workforce.

Changes will be introduced gradually over a two-year period, giving businesses time to prepare. We have launched a dedicated website offering practical guidance and support for businesses and workers, alongside wider communication, engagement and educational activity to raise awareness. We will keep consulting with businesses, trade unions and civil society to make sure we get the detail right.

The Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights act and this is available here: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.

Our analysis, supported by independent modelling and international evidence, demonstrates pro-employment effects are more likely and deems the overall risk to employment to be low.

Charges under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for relevant goods entering the EU Single Market have applied since January 2026. This includes EU imports of steel goods within scope of EU CBAM.

We are monitoring the EU CBAM and continue to engage with businesses. The EU CBAM may influence trade flows by changing relative costs between markets, with impacts remaining uncertain and dependent on commercial and policy factors.

The UK Government will introduce its own CBAM from January 2027 to protect against carbon leakage.

Manufacturing is crucial for the UK's economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and boosting national security and resilience. Last year this government published our 10-year Modern Industrial Strategy, setting out our long-term approach to strengthening domestic capability. Alongside it we published the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, which outlines both sector-specific and cross-cutting measures aimed at boosting manufacturing overall, including for component manufacturers. Our focus is on delivering against these strategies to make the UK the best place to start and grow a manufacturing business.

As set out in the steel strategy, the government is committed to creating a fair and competitive market for UK steel by addressing carbon leakage.

The Government will introduce the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from January 2027. The UK CBAM is an environmental measure designed to tackle the risk of carbon leakage by ensuring that some of the most emissions intensive industrial goods imported to the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid domestically.

UK CBAM is led by HM Treasury, and the Department for Business and Trade are engaging with them on this measure.

The Department for Business and Trade worked with other government departments, regulators and industry to support information sharing on supply chain issues affecting the vehicle repair sector, as set out in the Report. This included engagement through the Motor Insurance Taskforce and associated cross‑government and industry forums with insurance and motor trade bodies, including the Association of British Insurers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. These forums will continue to provide a mechanism for sharing information on supply chain‑related issues, including those affecting vehicle repairs, and for informing wider government consideration of automotive supply chain resilience.

The Skills Portability Initiative is an EU proposal which aims to improve worker mobility, both skilled and unskilled, within the single market. It includes a possible legislative proposal that could encourage simplified procedures for the recognition of professional qualifications (RPQ) across Member States for non-EU nationals.

In line with our manifesto, the Government is committed to improving routes for UK professionals to practise and provide services in the EU. The Government has communicated support to the European Commission for modernised and transparent recognition processes through this initiative, which could benefit UK businesses, professionals and boost economic growth.

The UK is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a whole and is prioritising strengthening our trade and investment relationship with all six GCC countries through a UK-GCC-wide trade deal. The UAE is an important trading partner, the largest within the GCC. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and the UAE was £25.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025.

The UK strongly values the UK-UAE relationship and will continue to work to further deepen cooperation in trade and investment.

This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector. The steel trade measure has been designed to addresses the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity, which undermines the viability of UK steelmaking and, in turn, our critical national infrastructure and defence.

We have carefully balanced the needs of producers and downstream industry, and the product scope of the measure reflects this. There are no current plans to extend this scope, but we will continue to engage with downstream industry as the measure is implemented.

The Department for Business and Trade will conduct its review of the British Industry Supercharger this year, which will include a review of eligibility criteria. Any changes to eligibility criteria, or other parts of the policy, are subject to public consultation and ministerial approval. I encourage all stakeholders, including those in the steel and scrap sectors, to engage with this review when the opportunity arises and present all relevant evidence.

The Government has published an analytical paper alongside the consultation providing a high-level assessment of the likely impacts. Initial analysis suggests that the regime would help to make the UK more attractive to companies wishing to change their domicile and signal the UK’s openness to business, and position as a global centre. The impact on the UK economy is therefore expected to be positive, but the scale of that impact is uncertain. A further, more detailed assessment, incorporating the findings of the consultation, will be produced to accompany the legislation that introduces the re-domiciliation regime.

During the Department’s stakeholder engagement, some companies indicated that they decided against moving to the UK under the current system, which they found to be prohibitive. However, the Department is unable to estimate the overall number of non-UK companies that have been deterred from relocating to the UK under the current system as this is not information that is ordinarily published or announced by companies.

The Government has published an analytical paper alongside the consultation providing a high-level assessment of the likely impacts. Initial analysis suggests that the regime would help to make the UK more attractive to companies wishing to change their domicile and signal the UK’s openness to business, and position as a global centre. The impact on the UK economy is therefore expected to be positive, but the scale of that impact is uncertain. A further, more detailed assessment, incorporating the findings of the consultation, will be produced to accompany the legislation that introduces the re-domiciliation regime.

During the Department’s stakeholder engagement, some companies indicated that they decided against moving to the UK under the current system, which they found to be prohibitive. However, the Department is unable to estimate the overall number of non-UK companies that have been deterred from relocating to the UK under the current system as this is not information that is ordinarily published or announced by companies.

Under current proposals set out for public consultation, re-domiciled companies will retain all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts, debts and other obligations, to which the re-domiciling body corporate was subject immediately before re-domiciliation.

To successfully re-domicile, companies will need to provide proof of de-registration in the departing jurisdiction within 60 days of registration in the UK. It is expected that the departing jurisdiction will satisfy itself that the body corporate has met any existing jurisdiction-specific liabilities that need to be met prior to approving its exit and de-registration.

Companies must also confirm in their application that any authorisation or other action required by the departing jurisdiction has been given or will have been given on re-domiciliation and that the body corporate is not prevented from making the application because it is subject to a restriction on applying with an offence for making a false or misleading statement in the application.

Once a body corporate has re-domiciled to the UK, it will be treated in the same way as a company originally incorporated in the UK . This includes relevant new requirements introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, such as confirming that future activities will be lawful and for the proposed directors and persons of significant control to have their identities verified.

Under current proposals set out for public consultation, re-domiciled companies will retain all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts, debts and other obligations, to which the re-domiciling body corporate was subject immediately before re-domiciliation.

To successfully re-domicile, companies will need to provide proof of de-registration in the departing jurisdiction within 60 days of registration in the UK. It is expected that the departing jurisdiction will satisfy itself that the body corporate has met any existing jurisdiction-specific liabilities that need to be met prior to approving its exit and de-registration.

Companies must also confirm in their application that any authorisation or other action required by the departing jurisdiction has been given or will have been given on re-domiciliation and that the body corporate is not prevented from making the application because it is subject to a restriction on applying with an offence for making a false or misleading statement in the application.

Once a body corporate has re-domiciled to the UK, it will be treated in the same way as a company originally incorporated in the UK . This includes relevant new requirements introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, such as confirming that future activities will be lawful and for the proposed directors and persons of significant control to have their identities verified.

Under current proposals set out for public consultation, re-domiciled companies will retain all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts, debts and other obligations, to which the re-domiciling body corporate was subject immediately before re-domiciliation.

To successfully re-domicile, companies will need to provide proof of de-registration in the departing jurisdiction within 60 days of registration in the UK. It is expected that the departing jurisdiction will satisfy itself that the body corporate has met any existing jurisdiction-specific liabilities that need to be met prior to approving its exit and de-registration.

Companies must also confirm in their application that any authorisation or other action required by the departing jurisdiction has been given or will have been given on re-domiciliation and that the body corporate is not prevented from making the application because it is subject to a restriction on applying with an offence for making a false or misleading statement in the application.

Once a body corporate has re-domiciled to the UK, it will be treated in the same way as a company originally incorporated in the UK . This includes relevant new requirements introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, such as confirming that future activities will be lawful and for the proposed directors and persons of significant control to have their identities verified.

The Department for Business and Trade will continue to work closely with Companies House to ensure the regime will be implemented effectively and applications can be processed in a timely manner.