Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to ensure the availability of positive mental health initiatives including (a) on-site mental health resources, (b) training for employers in mental health first aid and (c) helplines for the construction industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Considerable investment has been made in improving mental health in the construction sector. Since 2018, the Construction Industry Training Board has supported 950 employers and invested over £1.5m in mental health projects, including training mental health first aiders, and providing awareness training and other resources.
The Construction Leadership Council is working in partnership with the Mates in Mind charity, the University of Warwick, and firms in the construction industry, to identify the underlying factors leading to poor mental health, and how to tackle these.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21859, on Flexible Working Taskforce, on what dates that taskforce met in each year from 2018 to 2022.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Flexible Working Taskforce met on fourteen occasions between 2018 and 2022.
The dates of these meetings were:
29 March 2018; 09 May 2018; 11 July 2018; 12 September 2018; 16 November 2018; 16 January 2019; 27 March 2019; 02 July 2019; 22 September 2020; 14 April 2021; 27 April 2021; 07 July 2021; 13 October 2021; 07 February 2022.
The Government is committed to regular engagement with stakeholders on the topic of flexible working and other related issues.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 increase the (a) volume and( b) value of trade between the United Kingdom and Greece.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Reinvigorating the UK’s relationship with our European partners is a priority for this Government.
The Prime Minister met with his Greek counterpart in December, when both underlined the importance of the bilateral relationship, and agreed that there were opportunities to deliver further trade and investment for both countries. HM Trade Commissioner for Europe’s visit to Athens in October 2024 also served to strengthen engagement with industry stakeholders.
My officials continue to work to identify opportunities for UK businesses and address barriers to trade with Greece.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the deals announced on 16 December 2024 between the Israel Ministry of Defence and Elbit Systems for the supply of advanced communication systems to the Israel Defence Force will include products (a) developed or (b) made by Elbit Systems UK Ltd.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We cannot comment on individual companies’ commercial plans. Elbit Systems UK Ltd, like all UK companies, would be required to apply for an export licence to export military or dual-use items from the UK.
All such applications are assessed against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and under the terms of our current suspension of certain licences to Israel, any licence application for components that could be used in military operations in Gaza would currently be refused.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to appoint Trade Envoys.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Trade Envoy programme will continue and the House will of course be notified of any appointments in due course.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to appoint country-specific trade envoys.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The House will be notified of any Trade Envoy appointments in due course.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to include appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair appointment will be classified as a significant appointment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC) is an independent, non-statutory, expert committee and as such these appointments are not in scope for addition to the Order in Council or Significant Appointments under Cabinet Office guidance. We have committed to putting the Council on a statutory footing, and this will be reviewed after doing so.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Nissan on safeguarding jobs in Sunderland, in the context of the potential merger of Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
While we cannot comment on the commercial affairs of private companies, I can say that the Department of Business and Trade is in contact with both Nissan and Honda and we will work with the companies to support the future of the UK’s world-leading automotive industry.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11832 on the Living Wage, if the Impact Assessment will provide an estimate of the number of national living wage earners who will become income tax payers from April 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department produces National Minimum Wage Impact Assessments in line with the requirements of the Better Regulation Framework. Previous Impact Assessments are available via Legislation.gov.uk.
The Impact Assessment that will be published alongside the legislation for the 2025 rates will not provide an estimate of the number of National Living Wage earners who will become income tax payers from April 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 impact of reduced glass import tariffs on UK glass manufacturers.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade recently conducted an assessment to determine whether the current tariff rate for various glass products was appropriate.
Having considered the predominance of imports from the EU or from countries with whom we have an FTA, and further analysis of specific imports from non-FTA partners, the
evidence does not suggest that tariff liberalisation is materially affecting the interests of the sector, or the competitiveness of businesses.