Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the effective use of data to drive productivity will be included in the proposed industrial strategy council's remit.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) will be responsible for informing and monitoring the development and delivery of the long-term industrial strategy, ensuring that policy interventions are based on a high-quality evidence base. The ISC will recommend actions, focusing on growth-driving sectors and the pro-business environment. It will also evaluate impacts. Use of effective data is central to the ISC’s role.

The government will legislate to establish this statutory body in due course. Ahead of legislation, we are introducing an interim Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to ensure the Industrial Strategy is developed with independent expert advice.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses to use data more effectively to increase productivity.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Invest 2035: Industrial Strategy Green Paper sets out our vision for a credible, 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high-growth sectors that will drive our growth mission.

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper demonstrates our ambition to support businesses in using data more effectively, including exploring interventions that will: improve the use of public sector data (as a driver of growth); better empower individuals and businesses with their data through the development of Smart Data schemes; and help improve data maturity in businesses. The consultation is open until 24 November 2024.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consultations they had with the aviation industry before the publication of their Industrial Strategy Green Paper Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy and what steps they will take to enable the aviation industry to contribute to carbon removal projects in developing that Strategy.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises the importance of the aviation sector to the UK economy. International connectivity, underpinned by strong airports and airlines, drives economic activity through facilitating trade and investment and enabling the movement of workers and tourists.

In the Green Paper the Government committed to engage widely throughout the development of our Industrial Strategy. This will include convening and co-design of ambitious Sector Plans for all eight growth-driving sectors (e.g. advance manufacturing). The UK approach to developing the Industrial Strategy focuses on growth that is aligned with our net zero and environmental objectives.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that all economic regulators comply with the growth mandate outlined in the Smart Regulation White Paper, published in May (CP 1089).

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to ensuring that our approach to economic regulation supports growth. As part of delivering on the growth mission, all economic regulators are in the scope of the growth duty and the Growth Duty Performance Framework.

The framework is a valuable tool that will help government to deliver economic growth by improving accountability and transparency of the performance of various regulators, including economic regulators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to invest in Basildon.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Growth is the government’s central economic mission and we are currently developing an Industrial Strategy which aims to drive growth across the UK through investment in key sectors and regions.

The Department of Business and Trade (DBT) encourages investment across the UK through working closely with local council teams. A recent example is the 11^th of September opening of Iveco’s UK HQ in Basildon, closely supported by DBT alongside Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council.

DBT regularly refers to Basildon’s strong industrial base in company information requests, referring to well-established overseas investors such as the Ford Motor Company and CNH Industrial Tractors.

DBT works to promote Basildon to investors with further support from the Thames Estuary Growth Board PRP, The Thames Freeport team and the Cities and Local Growth Unit.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish a list of items licensed for sale to Israel for (a) military and (b) dual-use which are being used in the West Bank by the Israeli (i) military, (ii) police and (iii) other government body.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We publish annual and quarterly reports on export licences issued, refused, or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the products covered by these licences. They are available to view on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

Summary data on our current export licences to Israel was also published on 11 June 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/export-control-licensing-management-information-for-israel.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing Israel from the list of approved recipients for the Open General license.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Following the decision by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on 2 September 2024 to suspend licences related to use by Israel in the current military operations in Gaza, a number of open general export licences were amended. Further detail on the affected licences can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202420-suspension-of-licences-for-israel.

The OGEL for exports in support of the F-35 programme has been amended to exclude exports direct to Israel. Any broader suspension with respect to this OGEL is not possible without undermining the programme overall, which would have a significant negative impact on international peace and security.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7007 on Department for Business and Trade: Official Cars, which senior officials in his Department have access to a government car; and whether those officials had that access before the general election.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7006 on Department for Business and Trade: Official Cars, how many of those allocated three vehicles are electric cars.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of workers that will benefit from the increase to the (a) National Minimum Wage and (b) National Living Wage in Birmingham.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In total, over 3 million workers are expected to receive a pay rise due to increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

We will also publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. The Impact Assessment will provide a regional and country breakdown on the number of workers benefitting from an increase.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many workers aged above 16 years old are paid within 50p of the (a) National Minimum Wage and (b) National Living Wage in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the West Midlands.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Low Pay Commission publishes a report that provides a coverage of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) each year, shortly before the rates are updated in April. The report provides a Local Authority and Regional breakdown of NMW and NLW coverage, including those paid below or within 5p of the applicable rate. Data on those who are within 50p of the rates is not provided as part of the report.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the cost of replacing the Post Office Horizon IT system.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As part of the Spending Review 2021 Government provided Post Office with a total of £185m of funding to support investment activities, which included the ongoing maintenance and replacement of the Horizon IT system. In 2023 Government provided a further £103m to support with the costs of Horizon maintenance and replacement. Post Office is currently assessing the future costs of replacing the Horizon IT system. Further funding is to be allocated subject to the Spending Review process.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the long-term viability of pubs (a) in Bromsgrove constituency and (b) nationally.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Pubs, including those in Bromsgrove, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support pubs in (a) Clacton and (b) nationally.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Pubs, including in Clacton, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK. We will restore consumer confidence through measures such as the plan to Make Work Pay, which sets out an ambitious agenda to ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. Furthermore, through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, empowering communities to reclaim empty premises including pubs, to stimulate local growth.

We have also established Skills England, a new partnership which will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in pubs. This will address one of the key asks of the Hospitality Sector that the Levy should include shorter courses that would be more suitable to this sector.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support local businesses in Hamilton town centre.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government will bring forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year, setting out the Government’s vision for small businesses, including those in Hamilton Town Centre, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, creating thriving high streets, and addressing access to finance and late payments.

The government will commit to funding key growth programmes in 2025-26 including Help to Grow: Management across the UK, which helps businesses and entrepreneurs unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many jobs were created in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire as a result of foreign direct investment in the last year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Official Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbt-inward-investment-results-2023-to-2024 show 13 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects landed in Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2023-24. This includes single site and multiple site projects. It was not possible to publish the number of new jobs created due to confidentiality issues. Statistics are not published at Local Authority level due to confidentiality concerns, but Milton Keynes is within South East Midlands LEP where 38 FDI projects landed and 3,010 jobs were created in 2023-24. The estimated economic impact of FDI projects is only published at a UK level.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Office for Investment plans to engage with local authorities and combined authorities to (a) identify and (b) promote investment opportunities.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We work with local and combined authorities to promote the most significant investment opportunities, by providing compelling products for use by the department’s UK and international teams.

With the expanded Office for Investment, we will build further on this approach, working in partnership, to turn the Industrial Strategy and regional growth plans into a clear, commercially attractive pipeline of investment opportunities. We are piloting an enhanced way of supporting transformational local projects, connecting them with specialist support or expertise from across government to develop opportunities at scale and with commercial credibility to pull in large scale investment.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the response to issues arising from the failures of the Horizon IT System on his Department's capacity to deal with other issues.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

No such assessment has been made, however tackling the legacy of the Horizon scandal is a major priority for the Department.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the estimated economic impact of foreign direct investment projects in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire has been in the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Official Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbt-inward-investment-results-2023-to-2024 show 13 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects landed in Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2023-24. This includes single site and multiple site projects. It was not possible to publish the number of new jobs created due to confidentiality issues. Statistics are not published at Local Authority level due to confidentiality concerns, but Milton Keynes is within South East Midlands LEP where 38 FDI projects landed and 3,010 jobs were created in 2023-24. The estimated economic impact of FDI projects is only published at a UK level.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will list his Department's trade envoys.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are carefully considering the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy programme in the context of the new Government’s trade objectives. We will update the house in due course on the programme’s future.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants are working only on compensation for postmasters.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

On the 30^th of June, there were 45 FTE civil servants working within the Department for Business and Trade, as of the 30^th of September, there are 56 full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants working only on redress for postmasters, an increase of 11 FTE since July. The total excludes a further 15 roles for which recruitment is under way. This figure also excludes the expert cases assessment teams which are contracted by DBT and are not civil servants. Further recruitments will follow as the Department implements plans to create an appeals mechanism for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, as announced in September.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of interest rates on SMEs.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

For SMEs that pay interest at a variable rate, or those contemplating new borrowing, lower interest rates are clearly beneficial.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what further steps he plans to take to support the hospitality sector in the Colne Valley constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Hospitality businesses, including those in Colne Valley, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

The department also provides support through the Business Support Service and network of Growth Hubs – including the West Yorkshire Business Support Service.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10062 on Animal Welfare: Fireworks, what the Government’s planned timetable is for reviewing the existing policy.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10062 on Animal Welfare: Fireworks, what form of engagement the Government plans to undertake with charities on its review of existing policy.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing to businesses in Essex to increase the levels of exports of (a) goods and (b) services.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

UK businesses, including those in Essex, can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises online support and our wider network of support, including Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network, and UK Export Finance. Alongside this, our international trade advisers use their extensive experience of exporting and knowledge of the needs of SMEs in their sectors and regions to provide one-to-one tailored support to businesses across the UK.

DBT will continue to review its offer to ensure businesses have the support they need to export and grow.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of how many people will be paid the increased national living wage in April 2025.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We estimate that over 3 million workers will receive a pay rise due to the increase in the National Living Wage in April 2025. The number of workers paid at the National Living Wage in April 2025 is expected to be lower as some of these workers will receive a further indirect pay rise as employers decide to pay above the minimum.

We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report by the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills entitled Workplace Employment Relations Study, published on 23 January 2013, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a new workplace employment relations study.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

There are currently no plans to undertake a new Workplace Employee Relations Study (WERS). The survey methodology is challenging to replicate as it relies on sampling via the employer which is harder to obtain due to increased privacy concerns in recent years.

WERS was co-sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Acas, the Economic and Social Research Council, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The Department undertook the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey in 2018/19 which provides evidence on employment relations and management practices in British workplaces.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help support high street businesses in Epping Forest.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

At Budget the Chancellor announced a number of measures to support high street businesses, ideally in Epping Forest’s regeneration including permanently lowering tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026/27, extending RHL relief and the Small Business Multiplier for another year and additional funding to tackle retail crime through additional training for police and retailers and programmes cracking down on organised gangs.

The Government also announced its intention to bring forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper in 2025. This will set out the Government’s vision for supporting high street businesses including measures that will address access to finance, investment opportunities from overseas and domestic markets and building business capabilities.

This will complement the Government’s work to give local leaders and communities greater powers over empty properties and powers to revitalise their high streets.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help tackle late payments to small and medium-sized businesses.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Last month we announced a package of new measures to tackle late payments and long payment terms for small businesses and the self-employed.

We will legislate in this parliamentary session to require that large companies include payment performance in their annual reports, driving up transparency on how they pay their suppliers.

We will also be consulting on potential primary legislation measures and launching a new Fair Payment Code that rewards companies who pay their suppliers quickly and fairly.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times he has had a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State works closely with all his cabinet colleagues, including the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the normal operation of Government. For example, the Secretary of State and the Deputy Prime Minister have jointly met with businesses and trade unions on several occasions.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help raise awareness of the impact of mentoring on the business community.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Small businesses are the beating heart of our high streets, our communities, and essential to our economic success.

Professional mentoring can have a positive impact on business growth. Opportunities to access a mentor are actively signposted through the Help to Grow campaign site at https://helptogrow.campaign.gov.uk/.

The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed continued funding for Help to Grow: Management, which provides dedicated mentoring support, and to local Growth Hubs, many of which provide access to business mentors.

The Government will bring forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper in 2025, setting out the Government’s detailed vision for supporting small businesses.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the Trade Remedies Authority’s recent recommendation to remove anti-dumping measures on e-bikes from China and the potential impact on the UK cycle manufacturing industry.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK applies separate anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on imports of Chinese e-bikes. The Trade Remedies Authority is currently conducting transition reviews of both measures and I therefore cannot comment further. Relevant information will be published on the Trade Remedies Authority’s public file as both reviews progress.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Trade Remedies Authority's recommendation to remove anti-dumping measures on e-bikes on the UK Cycle Manufacturing Industry.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK applies separate anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on imports of Chinese e-bikes. The Trade Remedies Authority is currently conducting transition reviews of both measures and I therefore cannot comment further. Relevant information will be published on the Trade Remedies Authority’s public file as both reviews progress.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the regional spread of business debt in each of the last five years.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Business debt in the UK is spread across each of the regions, with the biggest proportions found in London, the South East and South West. Please find a detailed breakdown of the changes in the regional spread of business debt in each of the last five years, using figures from UK Finance:

Table: The share of the value of SME loan facilities (with each year-on-year difference)

Source: UK Finance (Aggregated SME Database, average of small and medium businesses value of loan facilities). Quarterly figures may not be directly comparable between years due to a re-segmentation of businesses and improvements in reporting from 2023 Q2 onwards. This includes some regional re-classification.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the independent appeals process for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme will start accepting applications.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In September, the Government announced that it would establish an HSS appeals process to provide individuals with a chance to have their claims reassessed through a DBT-run process. We are working with representative groups and the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to make sure that that the process is fit for purpose and that claims can be assessed and resolved quickly. We will announce further details as soon as we can.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the Scotch whisky industry.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

DBT leads a whole of Government effort, working with devolved governments and the sector to support this important industry, which exported £5.6bn of Scotch Whisky worldwide in 2023. We boost exports by leveraging trade agreements and removing barriers. For example, in August we announced the recognition of the Scotch Whisky Geographic Indicator in Brazil, valued at £25m over five years. We will continue to spotlight Scotch Whisky at global trade shows in key markets, including a spirits trade mission to India in November. The Export Academy food and drink programme, launched in October, offers dedicated upskilling to both emerging and experienced distilleries.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any inducements were offered, discussed or agreed to persuade DP World to attend the International Investment Summit.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

No benefits – financial or otherwise ­– were offered, discussed or agreed to persuade DP World to attend the International Investment Summit.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of a free trade agreement with India on the egg industry in the UK.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The first mission of this Government is to drive economic growth, Free Trade Agreements have a critical role to play in delivering that mission.

The Secretary of State announced the Government’s intention to deliver the UK’s Free Trade Agreement programme, including India in July 2024. Our trade programme is driven by stakeholder engagement, including with egg producers and their representative organisations.

In line with our parliamentary commitments, we will publish an independently scrutinised Impact Assessment once the agreement has been signed which will cover the economic impacts of the deal.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will establish an additional public holiday for St George's Day.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and accepted. The Government has no plans to change it.

While an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday remains considerable. The estimated cost to the UK economy of an additional one-off bank holiday is around £2bn.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support business investment into (a) Yorkshire and (b) northern Lincolnshire.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department works across the UK, including Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow, and provides extensive support to small businesses through the network of Growth Hubs. This government is developing a modern industrial strategy to deliver the certainty and stability for business to invest and creating the National Wealth Fund to support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s growth industries. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes, including supporting growing businesses across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) support the development of the UK’s lithium industry and (b) enhance battery manufacturing capabilities.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Domestic production of lithium will be increasingly important as demand for resilient and responsible sources of critical minerals grows. Government has supported several lithium projects through the Automotive Transformation Fund, and the UK recently celebrated the opening of the first lithium hydroxide demonstration plant by Cornish Lithium. in Government will continue to work closely with industry to maximise our potential for domestic lithium production.

The Autumn Budget committed over £2bn by 2030 for the automotive sector including the electric vehicle manufacturing sector and supply chain, including gigafactories. Alongside the National Wealth Fund, this will accelerate investment in our zero emission vehicle supply chain providing long-term certainty for industry.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of his Department's offices; and how many desks are available in each office.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Please see below a summary of the number of staff assigned by each location and the number of desks per location as of 30^th September 2024:

*We have several offices across the country that are listed under Regional Offices, it would exceed the word count if these were to be listed in totality.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Office for Investment will assess the potential impact of foreign direct investment on domestic businesses in key sectors.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Investment is at the heart of the government’s growth mission, increasing the number of good, well-skilled jobs and improving productivity across the country. Foreign direct investment is one part of this and can support domestic businesses directly through supply chains and indirectly through spillover benefits. The new Office for Investment will work closely with all businesses to increase facilitation of investment from UK and overseas businesses.

Previous research in 2021 by DBT found that on average a £1 million FDI project into Great Britain leads to a net increase in national levels of GVA of around £98,000 and a net increase in employment.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has met with the Agent-General of (a) New South Wales, (b) Queensland, (c) South Australia, (d) Tasmania, (e) Victoria, and (f) Western Australia.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade is working in close partnership with Australia across a range of areas, most notably on the implementation and utilisation of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This engagement has not included meetings by the Secretary of State with any of the Agent-Generals in Australia.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with which businesses the Minister for Industry had meetings on 30 October 2024.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published routinely on Gov.uk as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support pubs in Ashfield constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Pubs, including those in Ashfield, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support pubs in Reigate constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Pubs, including those in Reigate, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the implementation of existing free trade agreements.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK Government continually assesses the implementation of free trade agreements in order to maximise their benefit for business and support economic growth. We exploit opportunities to protect and secure further access to these markets, and will align our implementation approach with the upcoming Trade Strategy that will consider how to use every lever available to drive growth, including FTAs.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of lowering the turnover threshold of £1 billion for businesses that are required to fund the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is currently funded by an annual levy on the 14 large retailers that are designated under the Code by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA assesses annually whether retailers which have a turnover exceeding £1bn of grocery sales in the UK should be designated under the Code. The £1bn threshold is set out in the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009 which is the responsibility of the CMA.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason the Government issued a guarantee to commercial lenders for the INEOS Belgium project.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

UK Export Finance’s (UKEF’s) support for the INEOS Project One plant secures new export opportunities for the UK by enabling an overseas buyer to finance the purchase of goods, services and/or intangibles from UK suppliers.

As the UK’s export credit agency, UKEF’s mission is to advance prosperity by ensuring no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance, doing that sustainably and at no net cost to the taxpayer.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings he has had with representatives of Santander since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State has met once with representatives of Santander since 5 July 2024.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press notice entitled Flagship Government export initiative to be sponsored by Santander UK, published on 22 October 2024, what the total value is of the three year sponsorship agreement between his Department and Santander.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade was delighted to announce Santander UK’s three-year commitment to sponsor a package of trade related events on 22 October. This involves sponsorship rights at International Trade Week, a series of UK Export Academy webinars, and a number of tradeshows over the period. Specific events may vary over the term of the agreement. Santander UK is investing £750,000 over three years and is also hosting additional events at its own cost.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press notice entitled Flagship Government export initiative to be sponsored by Santander UK, published on 22 October 2024, what the terms of the agreement are with Santander.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade was delighted to announce Santander UK’s three-year commitment to sponsor a package of trade related events on 22 October. This involves sponsorship rights at International Trade Week, a series of UK Export Academy webinars, and a number of tradeshows over the period. Specific events may vary over the term of the agreement. Santander UK is investing £750,000 over three years and is also hosting additional events at its own cost.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses there are per constituency based on new boundaries.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Numbers of VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses in new parliamentary constituencies (2024) broken down by broad industry group, employment and turnover size-bands were published by ONS on 3^rd October 2024, at the request of DBT.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 5919 on Financial Services: Liechtenstein, whether he has had any meetings with his Liechtenstein counterpart.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not met with his Liechtenstein counterpart.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any businesses have (a) withdrawn and (b) reduced their investment commitments following the International Investment Summit on 14 October 2024.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We are not aware of any announcements that investment highlighted at the International Investment Summit has subsequently been withdrawn or reduced. The Office for Investment continues to support business on all the investment projects announced at the summit among many others.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of workers with AI-driven skills.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has developed a number of initiatives to increase the number of workers with AI-driven skills.

DBT’s Global Talent Network AI Futures programme attracts top young AI talents to the UK by focusing on exceptional international early to mid-career AI researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs which will support the upskilling of our domestic workforce.

Skills England will build the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade by setting both young people and adults up to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world.

The AI Action Plan, commissioned by the Technology Secretary and drafted by the tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, will set out, in part, the steps needed to equip our workforce with the right skills to support the AI sector’s growth.

.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with D&D London on its announcement of closures and redundancies at its TGI Fridays stores.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at TGI Fridays, and we stand ready to support those impacted. Affected employees will be able to access Government support, including Universal Credit and Job Centre Plus to help them find new jobs, through its Rapid Response Service. DBT officials are monitoring developments and are in touch with administrators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with D&D London on the closure of 35 TGI Fridays branches.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at TGI Fridays, and we stand ready to support those impacted. Affected employees will be able to access Government support, including Universal Credit and Job Centre Plus to help them find new jobs, through its Rapid Response Service. DBT officials are monitoring developments and are in touch with administrators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with D&D London on the closure of 35 TGI Fridays branches.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at TGI Fridays, and we stand ready to support those impacted. Affected employees will be able to access Government support, including Universal Credit and Job Centre Plus to help them find new jobs, through its Rapid Response Service. DBT officials are monitoring developments and are in touch with administrators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of retaining British Summer Time all year round.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government has no current plans to change the approach to Daylight Savings.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 in protecting (a) people and (b) animals from negative impacts of fireworks.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.

To inform any future decisions on the legislative framework, the Government intends to engage with stakeholders to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of delays at the Dartford Crossing on businesses in Dartford.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

My Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of delays at the Dartford Crossing on local businesses. However, area teams in my Department engage closely with local stakeholders, including businesses, to support delivery of their economic plans.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) restricting the sale of fireworks to licensed retails and (b) lowering the noise limit of fireworks to 90 decibels.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Most people use fireworks in a responsible, safe, and appropriate manner and there are laws in place to address situations where fireworks are misused. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 to protect (a) people and (b) animals from the negative impact of fireworks.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Most people use fireworks in a responsible, safe, and appropriate manner and there are laws in place to address situations where fireworks are misused. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.

To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade has made three direct ministerial appointments since 04 July 2024: 1) Professor Sir Steve Smith, reappointed as International Education Champion, for a period of 12 months and 2) Lord Lancaster, reappointed as Defence and Security Advocate for a period of 3 months and 3) Clare Barclay as Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.

Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions. The reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Royal Mail adheres to the universal service obligation.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.

Ofcom is currently investigating Royal Mail’s service standards in 2023-24 following its failure to meet its delivery obligations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to invest in Thurrock.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Growth is the government’s central economic mission and we are currently developing an Industrial Strategy which aims to drive growth across the UK through investment in key sectors and regions.

DBT looks to encourage investment across the UK and works closely with relevant economic development and inward investment officers at Essex County Council, The Thames Freeport and the Thames Estuary Growth Board (PRP) along with the local councils as appropriate.

Investment into the wider region (Essex, Kent and East Sussex) has been consistent between 2021-2024. The number of jobs created rose to 1281 in 2023-2024, a 40% rise from the previous year.

The Lakeside shopping Centre at West Thurrock continues to be an attraction for foreign retailers and DBT has supported retail and distribution investments in the region from Aldi, Lidl and Amazon.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 28 October when she stated that they "are looking at the calls for an office for the whistleblower" and "are considering other ideas as well" (HL Deb col 911), which specific alternative ideas they are considering to assist whistleblowers.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is focussed on delivering the commitment in the Plan to Make Work Pay, to strengthening protections for whistleblowers, including by updating protections for women who report sexual harassment at work. The Employment Rights Bill delivers on that commitment.

Organisations and individuals have put forward many different ideas for how to strengthen the whistleblowing framework, including proposals for an office. The Government is always open to ideas.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any environmental (a) policies and (b) programmes are impacted by the UK Internal Market Act 2020.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK Internal Market Act provides the practical framework that facilitates businesses and people to trade and purchase goods and services freely across the UK. It supports economic growth and protects jobs and investment across all four nations of the UK. The Act does not prevent the UK Government or Devolved Governments from legislating in any areas of reserved or devolved policy, including environmental policy.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the £63 billion of inward investment announced as a result of the International Investment Summit had been previously identified or announced.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The International Investment Summit resulted in £63 billion of private investment commitments. It will see billions of pounds flowing into our tech, digital, manufacturing and life sciences sectors, spurring growth in all four nations of the United Kingdom and creating almost 38,000 new jobs in the process.

Fireworks killed our mum, Josephine Smith.
Her home was attacked using fireworks. We believe the use of fireworks after sale to the public cannot be policed.
We think all displays should be licensed and sales limited to licence holders only.

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Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, whether the funding for growth-driving sectors will be allocated to the Department for Business and Trade.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government is committed to delivering a modern Industrial Strategy. The Budget took a first step towards supporting our growth driving sectors, by providing funding in 2025-26 for life sciences manufacturing, allocated to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and to automotive and aerospace manufacturing, allocated to the Department for Business and Trade.

The Budget also confirmed long-term funding for these sectors - £975m for aerospace, over £2bn for automotive, and up to £520m for life sciences supporting the development of new technology, further details of this funding will be set out through the Spending Review and publication of the full Industrial Strategy in Spring 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) policy reviews, (b) new and revised strategies, (c) green papers and (d) white papers relating to the policy areas covered in the (i) The Integrated Review 2021, published on 16 March 2021, and (ii) Integrated Review Refresh 2023, published on 13 March 2023, each Department is working on.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government has launched a number of reviews and strategies relating to policy areas covered in the Integrated Review (2021) and Integrated Review Refresh (2023). These include but are not limited to:

• Strategic Defence Review - Ministry of Defence

• AUKUS Review - Ministry of Defence

• China Audit - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• Global Impact Review - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• Economic Diplomacy Review - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• International Development Review - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• Resilience Review - Cabinet Office

• Trade Strategy - Department for Business and Trade

• Industrial Strategy - Department for Business and Trade

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will publish an allocation breakdown of the £20.4 billion spending on research and development for 2025-26.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

To fully harness the potential of the UK's excellent science base and to foster a dynamic investment economy, the Budget protects record levels of government research and development (R&D) investment with £20.4 billion allocated in 2025-26. This is allocated as per the table below.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if her Department will publish a tabular summary of Capital DEL allocated in the Budget to research and development by Department.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

To fully harness the potential of the UK's excellent science base and to foster a dynamic investment economy, the Budget protects record levels of government research and development (R&D) investment with £20.4 billion allocated in 2025-26. This is allocated as per the table below.

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