Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill has not yet been published; and when they plan to publish it.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Due to the current volume of legislation before Parliament, the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill will not be published for pre-legislative scrutiny in this session. Both houses of Parliament were informed of this in July 2025. The Government’s plans for legislation in subsequent sessions will be set out in the usual way through the King’s Speech.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for publishing the secondary legislation following the enactment of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Powers in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 have already been used to introduce secondary legislation. The Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors (Amendment and Transitional) Regulations 2025 was the first statutory instrument to be laid (13 October). Other secondary legislation will follow, after appropriate consultation, as is required by the Act. As announced in the Budget, this includes consulting in early 2026 on proposals to tackle the prevalence of unsafe products sold online and streamline the processes for enforcement.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent findings from Which? that nearly 800 products for sale on online marketplaces were similar or identical to items already flagged as unsafe by the Office for Product Safety and Standards in the past year, whether they plan to introduce a duty for online marketplaces to tackle unsafe products sold on their platforms; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market. However, it continues to be too easy for non-compliant goods to be made available to UK consumers online. The Government has therefore introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. The Act allows us to introduce clear and proportionate obligations on online marketplaces to improve consumer safety and ensure fair market competition.
We have committed to consult on proposals to modernise these responsibilities in early 2026. This will build upon best practice to create an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from lenders asking for higher funding limits under the Growth Guarantee Scheme, and what plans they have to extend funding limits for lenders under the Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Government and the British Business Bank maintain constant dialogue with Growth Guarantee Scheme Delivery Partners to ensure the terms and capacity of the Scheme remain appropriate. With the announcement of resources to facilitate an additional £500 million of lending through the Scheme to businesses affected by turbulence in global trade, the British Business Bank are working with Delivery Partners on how best to allocate this additional capacity. Funding allocations for future years are subject to negotiation.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the British Business Bank regarding the expansion of the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Growth Guarantee Scheme plays a vital role in helping more businesses access affordable finance for growth and investment, which is why the Government provided resources to facilitate an additional £500 million of lending through the Scheme to businesses affected by turbulence in global trade. DBT and HMT officials work closely with British Business Bank counterparts to ensure the Scheme’s terms and parameters remain effective and impactful.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the information provided by the UK Export Support Service is sufficient to prepare UK businesses who may be impacted by the European Union carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Export Support Service continues to inform UK businesses of upcoming EU regulations and their impact to their trading activities through a range of channels. This includes the "Unlock Europe" webinar series hosted by the Export Academy, which will have a session on CBAM on 23 April. We are tracking forthcoming EU regulations which will impact UK exporters and are in dialogue with business representative organisations to understand how we can best support businesses to understand and prepare for changes which may impact them.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the late submission of regulatory impact assessments for legislative proposals.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Since the General Election, the Cabinet Office, with the support of the Department for Business & Trade, has written to departments to remind them of their responsibility to consider in their legislative plans the general requirement to make regulatory impact assessments available when bringing forward relevant legislation to Parliament. The Department for Business & Trade provides training and advice to officials across government to support their departments’ compliance with this and the wider requirements of the Guide to Making Legislation and Better Regulation Framework Guidance. The government supports the Regulatory Policy Committee in holding departments to account for their compliance with the framework; this includes publishing statements of lateness when regulatory provisions reach Parliament without a regulatory impact assessment or opinion from the committee where they require one.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new right to flexible working in the Employment Rights Bill will include a requirement for additional consideration of requests from those who are pregnant.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Government understands that the availability of flexible working can be important for those who are pregnant and in work. It can be equally as important for a number of other groups, including new parents, those with other caring responsibilities and those managing a disability or long term health condition. That is why, through the Employment Rights Bill, the Government is making flexible working the default for all employees, except where not reasonably feasible.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of the new rules for bereavement leave entitlement set out in the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new right to Bereavement Leave for employees to take protected time off to grieve. We will consult stakeholders on aspects of the design.
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 enabled a ‘day one’ paternity leave entitlement for employees who become the primary carer for their newborn after the death of their partner. Regulations will then provide them with leave for up to one year after the child’s birth or adoption placement. This entitlement will have minimal impact on business and no impact on the Exchequer.
Acas maintain guidance for employers on bereavement including miscarriage.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to ensure that the new bereavement leave entitlement under the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 includes leave for pregnancy loss.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new right to Bereavement Leave for employees to take protected time off to grieve. We will consult stakeholders on aspects of the design.
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 enabled a ‘day one’ paternity leave entitlement for employees who become the primary carer for their newborn after the death of their partner. Regulations will then provide them with leave for up to one year after the child’s birth or adoption placement. This entitlement will have minimal impact on business and no impact on the Exchequer.
Acas maintain guidance for employers on bereavement including miscarriage.