Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise UK-based companies to retain and create skilled jobs in the UK rather than offshore them.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our modern Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and create a highly skilled, economically prosperous country, with key objectives to drive up business investment and create high-quality jobs across the UK. We are focused on capturing a greater share of internationally mobile capital and supporting businesses to employ skilled workers in the UK, including through investing over £1 billion in tailored sector skills packages. We have also published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan with ambitions to recruit 400,000 people in the UK, with Jobs Plans covering other priority sectors to follow.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria is used to assess the suitability of publicly-funded manufacturing contracts allocated to companies.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Procurement Act sets out the process that contracting authorities follow when assessing the suitability of suppliers for public contracts, including their capacity and capability to deliver. This approach is supported by guidance in the Sourcing Playbook.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
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 impact of Network Rail’s approach to the proposed redevelopment of London Liverpool Street Station on inward foreign direct investment.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Investment, a joint unit across DBT, HMT & No.10, promotes the UK as one of the world’s leading destinations for Foreign Direct Investment, supported by our strong business environment, highly skilled workforce and globally competitive sectors. FDI plays an important role in driving growth, innovation and jobs across the country. The OfI has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of Network Rail’s approach to the proposed redevelopment of London Liverpool Street Station on inward foreign direct investment.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
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 protect STEM jobs in Wales.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy is protecting and expanding STEM jobs in Wales by backing future industries and Wales’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, digital technologies and life sciences. North Wales will pioneer the UK’s first Small Modular Reactor programme, supporting up to 3,000 new jobs. Two Welsh AI Growth Zones are unlocking more than 8,000 technology roles across the country, while the UK Government’s £500 million investment in an electric arc furnace at Port Talbot, and continued support for the compound semiconductor cluster, further strengthens Wales’s industrial and STEM employment base.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
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 ensure that the UK can attract private sector investment in nationally signification infrastructure projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade is taking active steps to attract private sector investment into nationally significant infrastructure projects. Through the expanded Office for Investment, we provide enhanced relationship management for major and sovereign investors, supported by strengthened business development teams that work closely with delivery partners to originate and progress high-quality projects.
Under the Government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit within the OfI identifies and develops demand-led opportunities, aligning them with investor priorities. In partnership with NISTA, we promote priority infrastructure projects with strong commercial potential to suitable institutional investors, helping to unlock long-term capital at scale.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
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 adequacy of postal deliveries across Northern Ireland.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. Earlier this month, I met the CEO of Royal Mail, Alistair Cochrane, to press him on Royal Mail’s progress in improving quality of service. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to set and enforce Royal Mail’s quality of service targets. Royal Mail is required by Ofcom to publish its quality of service results on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with Royal Mail to encourage timely deliveries in Lagan Valley.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. Earlier this month, I met the CEO of Royal Mail, Alistair Cochrane, to press him on Royal Mail’s progress in improving quality of service. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to set and enforce Royal Mail’s quality of service targets. Royal Mail is required by Ofcom to publish its quality of service results on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assumptions his Department uses regarding cost pass-through to consumers when assessing the impact of new trade-related regulatory requirements on businesses, and whether those assumptions have been revised since the publication of the Department’s 2024 Green Book-aligned appraisal guidance.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Addressing regulatory barriers to trade can help reduce costs for UK businesses trading internationally and support economic growth. Cost pass‑through to consumers is subject to uncertainty and may differ significantly depending on market conditions, products and supply chains in scope. Reflecting the Green Book’s principles‑based approach to appraisal, which emphasises judgement and proportionality where impacts are uncertain, cost pass-through impacts are considered on a case‑by‑case basis where evidence indicates that they can be assessed.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
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 potential impact of regulatory divergence from the EU on UK exporters since July 2024, broken down by sector and by firm size.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No, we will not be making such a precise assessment, but the EU is our closest partner and biggest trading market and we are committed to making trade easier by removing unnecessary barriers to trade. To date, many UK regulations continue to align in the main with EU regulations. We are aware that EU divergence is an important issue for many UK exporters to the EU. We continue to monitor potential instances of divergence and undertake assessments on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish a break down of the billions in investment secured on his visit to China in January 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the 30 January press release, hundreds of millions worth of new investment was secured as part of the visit, alongside £2.2 billion in export deals. This includes investment from HiTHIUM, Chery Commercial Vehicle, Asymchem, and POP MART.
Further detail can be found in the press release.