Department for Business and Trade

The latest available data is:

(1) The Financial Reporting Council – 459 staff – taken from 2024/25 Annual Report and Accounts published 22 July 2025; and

(2) The Competition and Markets Authority – 1,112 staff – taken from CMA: workforce management information published 31 July 2025.

Workplace monitoring technology has the potential to increase business productivity and improve efficiency, but it can also pose risks to workers’ when used disproportionately or without consideration of data protection, equality and employment rights.

The Plan to Make Work Pay makes clear workers’ interests will need to inform the digital transformation taking place in the workplace. We therefore committed to making the introduction of workplace monitoring technologies subject to consultation and negotiation.

The UK Government has been working with Bank of America over several years to support their growth in the UK.

Recognizing Northern Ireland’s offer as an investment destination, DBT officials - both in the UK and North America - held a succession of meetings with Bank of America leadership to facilitate an announcement ahead of the State Visit.

This significant investment cements Northern Ireland’s role in the global financial services sector, boosting growth and delivering high value, skilled roles for the people of Northern Ireland.

The Open General Import Licence does not prohibit the importation of goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Goods from illegal Israeli settlements are not eligible for preferential treatment under UK trade agreements. The Government’s overseas business risk guidance outlines the risks of economic activity in settlements and advises businesses to seek legal advice. The Government does not encourage or support such activity, and its guidance enables businesses to make informed decisions.

The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government's E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law. The Israeli government must reverse this decision. Goods from illegal Israeli settlements are not eligible for preferential treatment under UK trade agreements. The Government’s overseas business risk guidance outlines the risks of economic activity in settlements and advises businesses to seek legal advice. The Government does not encourage or support such activity, and its guidance enables businesses to make informed decisions.

The Government keeps the Open General Import Licence under review to ensure it aligns with UK trade and national security priorities, and our international obligations. Goods from illegal Israeli settlements are not eligible for preferential treatment under UK trade agreements. The Government’s overseas business risk guidance outlines the risks of economic activity in settlements and advises businesses to seek legal advice. The Government does not encourage or support such activity, and its guidance enables businesses to make informed decisions.

The UK has consistently been clear on the continued need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This government has raised this issue with China several times, including at the UK-China Strategic Dialogue earlier this year.

Government fully recognises the importance of hospitality businesses in rural communities, that’s why we’re providing support through a range of measures to ease pressures.

We continue to monitor key agricultural commodities and work with the hospitality sector, supported by the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which tracks prices, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.  The Zero Carbon Services Hospitality trial offers free energy and carbon-reduction advice. We will introduce permanently lower business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. The Employment Allowance has been increased to £10,500, meaning 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions enabling businesses to employ up to four full-time staff on the National Living Wage without incurring employer NIC costs. While insurers make commercial decisions based on risk assessments, the Financial Conduct Authority requires firms to offer fair value and monitors compliance, acting where necessary.

The Government recognises the vital role that rural pubs, including those in North East Hampshire constituency play in supporting local communities.

In April, the Government established the Licensing Taskforce, bringing together representatives from the hospitality industry to help shape reform. The Government’s response published on 31 July sets out proposals for a new National Licensing Policy Framework designed to simplify outdated licensing rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints.

We’re reforming the business rates system to support high streets, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. We’ve also launched a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with DBT and Hospitality Sector Council priorities such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.

Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to giving the next generation the opportunities to thrive.

The labour market is very strong by historical and international standards, and whilst there has been a downturn in graduate vacancies over the last 12 months, the employment rate for graduates in England has remained steady over the past 10 years at around 87% on average.

In June the Government published our modern Industrial Strategy, which will support good jobs and higher incomes across the country. This outlined interventions including £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29.

The National Archives shop operates on a self-funding commercial basis and aims to resume sales to Northern Ireland in the future.

Some GB based businesses have faced changes due to the updated EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. DBT signposts businesses to verified external service providers specialising in GPSR.

The Government recognises that the UK steel industry's shift towards electric arc furnaces will significantly elevate the importance of high-quality scrap as a material for UK steelmaking. Consequently, the Government is committed to securing an ample supply of high-quality scrap, while also ensuring the market remains fair and beneficial for all stakeholders. We are actively listening to the perspectives of all involved parties and will be exploring various options to address this issue.

Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK

The Economic Security Advisory Service (ESAS) will streamline government expertise and guidance to help protect UK business competitiveness against economic security risks and threats. The Service is being piloted during the current financial year, with the ambition to scale up over the Spending Review period. To date, extensive engagement with industry and partners in the UK and overseas is being used to develop a digital offer, which will sit alongside bespoke sector specific support.

We will continue to monitor progress and draw on industry feedback to ensure that the Service meets user needs.

I refer the member for Mid Bedfordshire to the answer my predecessor gave to UIN 73978 on 5 September 2025.

My department has been assessing the impact of US tariffs on the economy. This includes sector-by-sector impact assessments and scenario modelling. We are constantly engaging directly with businesses from across all sectors to gather real time intelligence on the impact of tariffs to directly inform our discussions with the US and the ways that we support UK businesses in this rapidly changing environment.

This analysis underpinned our agreement of the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD), which protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK.

My department has been assessing the impact of US tariffs on the UK economy, in a rapidly changing global trading environment. We are constantly engaging directly with businesses from across all sectors to gather real time intelligence on the impact of tariffs to directly inform our discussions with the US. This analysis underpinned our agreement of the Economic Prosperity Deal, which protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK.

By securing and implementing this deal, we are supporting the conditions necessary for economic growth.

The Technology Security Initiative (TSI) is a landmark agreement aimed at strengthening UK-India collaboration on critical and emerging technologies - such as AI - to drive growth and strengthen national security in both countries. It was launched by the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Modi in India in July 2024. Since then, it has enabled industry, academia, and government to deliver a number of new strategic opportunities - for example, a £7 million joint research programme on Future Telecoms.

For the sixth year running, India remains the second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects into the UK. Last year, Indian FDI created over 6,000 jobs - with many of these in the tech sector. More than 300 Indian tech companies attended London Tech Week, with most of them expressing interest in AI, a key area within TSI.

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The government has announced its intention to launch a Supply Chain Centre within the Department of Business and Trade. Work is now underway to establish the Centre, which is currently operating in shadow form. The Centre will lead work to strengthen the resilience of supply chains critical to the UK's economic growth and security, with particular emphasis on bolstering the resilience of high-growth industries identified in the Industrial Strategy.

The Centre will be formally launched in 2026, with more detail on these plans to be shared in due course.

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Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) was added to the GB Mandatory Classification List (GB MCL) under the GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation in February 2025. As per the requirements of Article 15 of the UK Cosmetic Regulation, Government is taking steps to prohibit the use of TPO in cosmetic products in Great Britain. Full details of the amendments to the Cosmetic Regulation, including any transitional provisions, will be prepared in due course. The first stage will be to ensure no new cosmetic products containing TPO are placed on the market from August 2026.

The Department for Business and Trade do not hold any records on meetings and correspondence sent by Lord Mandelson as his mailboxes from his time as Secretary of State are held by Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) on behalf of the former Department for Business Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who inherited the records of the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) following machinery of Government changes.

The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things a person can experience. This is why we have introduced a new right to bereavement leave in the Employment Rights Bill which will be available to those grieving the loss of a loved one, including to suicide.

The Bill deals with the introduction of leave only, and we will be consulting further on the detail this Autumn. However, it will be at employers' discretion to offer pay, as many already do.

The government has committed to a consultation on support for parents of seriously ill children in 2026, and will continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders as it is developed. There are currently no plans to introduce legislation prior to this consultation as this would pre-empt the outcome.

His Majesty's Government are pleased that the UK will remain as the base for Anglo Teck's incorporation, tax and primary listing, recognising London's role as a global centre for mining finance. We also welcome the news that a corporate office will be retained in London and that Anglo Teck has committed to progress the development of the Woodsmith Project (a polyhalite fertiliser mine) in North Yorkshire, a significant investment in the region.

The Department for Business and Trade will continue to engage with both companies as plans for the merger, including jobs, develop.

The EU-UK SPS Agreement was raised as a short item of ‘Any Other Business’ at the 7th meeting of the CPTPP Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures on July 3-4, 2025, which all CPTPP Parties attended.

The UK reaffirmed that we remain fully committed to our trade obligations under CPTPP and will not be rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union. The Committee noted the UK’s update and welcomed the UK’s offer to keep CPTPP members informed of developments.

The purpose of identity verification is to understand who is setting up, running, owning and controlling companies in the UK.

Identity verification will enhance the wider powers already available to query or reject inaccurate or suspicious information and addresses. These powers have enabled the Registrar to act more swiftly and decisively to the misuse of addresses. For example, up to 31 July 2025, Companies House has struck off 88,900 companies for failing to have an appropriate registered office address.

Companies House is continually iterating and developing their processes and systems, to proactively block the unauthorised use of addresses by companies.

We have not made an assessment of the barriers faced by small business using the courts and tribunal system to recover late payment.

DBT has launched a consultation on late payment which includes proposals to provide the Small Business Commissioner with powers to arbitrate disputes between small and large businesses with the intention of reducing financial and procedural burdens to resolve payment disputes. A final impact assessment will be published before these proposed measures are taken forward in primary legislation.

The UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) includes binding investment protection provisions which protect both UK and Colombian investors against unfair and discriminatory treatment, and expropriation without adequate compensation.

The Government maintains that it has acted consistently with domestic and international law obligations in the case of the legal challenge. In view of the ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment further at this stage.

Self-employed parents are not currently eligible for statutory paternity leave or pay. On 1 July the Government launched the Parental Leave and Pay Review. The Review will consider all existing and upcoming parental leave entitlements, including whether support available meets the needs of self-employed parents.

The Department does not hold a record of when the union flag is flown. Our buildings are managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA) who are responsible for flag flying at our main sites.

All insolvency practitioners (IPs), including those at Kroll Advisory Ltd, are authorised and regulated by recognised professional bodies, which operate under the Secretary of State’s oversight. Matters of concern about IP conduct are the responsibility of those bodies, in line with their published rules and procedures.

Critical minerals have been included in the recently published National Security Strategy and also in the UK Government's Resilience Action Plan, highlighting their fundamental importance to safeguarding the UK's economic security and resilience. Thanks to the extensive engagement and insights from our industry and expert stakeholders as well as through cross-government collaboration, we have developed a powerful new vision and plan for securing critical minerals in the UK.

We will continue to refine this ahead of publication this year, taking into account the evolving international context.

The Industrial Strategy focusses on the eight sectors with the highest economic potential, while supporting the Government's strategic objectives of resilient, environmentally sustainable, and regionally balanced growth. It also identifies foundational inputs for those sectors, including aluminium.

The aluminium sector will benefit from wider growth policies. The latest UK criticality assessment includes aluminium within its critical minerals list, to be used as the basis for the upcoming Critical Minerals Strategy. Some aluminium businesses will benefit from the increased network charge compensation.

We will also consult on eligibility for the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme, which will cut electricity bills for electricity-intensive industries by up to 25%.

The Industrial Strategy included a package of ambitious forms that will contribute to the target to cut administrative burdens to businesses by 25% by the end of the parliament.

These included harnessing the potential of new technology to make compliance with money laundering regulations simpler through the use of digital identity verification checks, removing requirements and increasing the permissible size for air source heat pumps. Alongside these, the Government will deliver several recommendations made by the industry-HMG licencing taskforce, including introducing a Licencing Policy Framework; pending consultation, this would significantly reduce the regulatory burden on the UK’s hospitality industry.

A liquidators’ statutory functions when winding up a company are to secure and realise any assets, distribute any funds generated to those entitled to them and generally act in the interests of the company’s creditors. In carrying out their statutory functions, liquidators are also obliged to have regard to their regulatory standards and code of ethics. This may extend to resolving legal title and infrastructure issues affecting homeowners if doing so is in creditors’ interests.

In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn with the objective of deepening the bilateral trading relationship further and seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade.

As part of our preparation for the Working Group, my department is considering feedback from a range of stakeholders to inform our approach, and we are open to receiving views from any other businesses with an interest in UK-Canada trade.

The working group will begin meeting shortly and report back to both Prime Ministers in December.

The UK has been in negotiations for a modern and ambitious free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council since June 2022. Throughout these negotiations, we have proactively engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders across sectors and regions, to inform negotiation decisions.

The Government has made a clear manifesto commitment to promote the highest standards when it comes to food production.

GCC states are not significant exporters of poultry. Currently the GCC is unable to export poultry to the UK due to sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. These requirements will not change as part of a free trade agreement.

At the time of the Spring Statement 2022 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) had commissioned and managed NATIS to undertake potentially fraudulent covid loan investigations.

Through the Machinery of Government changes accountability for NATIS passed to DBT in February 2023. Financial, Commercial and Security due diligence was completed by DBT in preparation for the contract that commenced April 2024.

Growing our bilateral trade is a shared priority. In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn with the objective of deepening the bilateral trading relationship further and seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade. It will report back to the Prime Minister. I will keep Parliament informed of how the discussions progress.

The UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn and will consist of officials from the UK and Canadian Governments.

We remain receptive to any views of relevant business and industry with an interest in UK-Canada trade.

In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn to deepen our trading relationship further, including to address existing market access barriers, to expand existing arrangements into new areas, such as digital trade, and to explore cooperation in the development of critical minerals and sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure.

On 12 October 2023, the Public Sector Fraud Authority were requested to undertake a formal operational review of National Investigation Service, with a primary purpose to focus on performance. The review team included experts from the National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue and Customs, Government Internal Audit Agency, and NHS Counter Fraud Authority.

The review report was provided to DBT on 17 November 2023 and made recommendations to prevent future risk of secondments lapsing and appropriate governance.

There have been no other formal audits or reviews undertaken by the Public Sector Fraud Authority into National Investigation Service.

My department is engaging with businesses to monitor impacts on small and medium-sized Businesses (SMEs) from the removal of the US de minimis exemption. We have published information for UK businesses and remain in contact with US counterparts to seek further clarity.

We remain fully committed to empowering SMEs to thrive in international markets, through our wide-ranging export support under the Business Growth Service. This aligns with our Trade Strategy objectives to help businesses navigate requirements such as customs and tariffs. Royal Mail’s new service has allowed SMEs to continue trading with the US, whilst other counterparts initially suspended services.