Lord Fox

The UK remains the only country to have secured a 10% tariff for automotives within quota - saving hundreds of millions of pounds on UK exports annually.

We will continue to engage with the US Administration, and with the UK autos industry on how we can best deliver for them.

Supporting the sector remains a priority for this Government, and we will keep industry informed to support business planning and future investment decisions.

The UK's landmark economic deal with the US will protect thousands of jobs, support key British industries, and help drive economic growth.

The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) is independent to Government and is responsible for investigating competition issues in the UK. In July 2020, the CMA published the final report of its market study into online platforms and digital advertising. The report showed evidence of Google having significant market power in the general search and advertising markets. Since this report, the CMA has opened investigations into suspected anti-competitive conduct by Google in the ad-tech market and the use of its ‘privacy sandbox’ tools.

The Government is working with the CMA to implement the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act. Part 1 of the Act will equip the CMA with faster, more effective tools to address the causes and consequences of market power in digital markets. This includes ensuring a small number of the most powerful digital firms comply with tailored rules on how they treat consumers and other businesses. The CMA will also be able to address the causes of competition issues in digital markets, to promote more dynamic markets. These reforms are estimated to deliver £6.2bn in consumer benefits over 10 years. The DMCC Act will protect small businesses, save consumers money, boost innovation and drive growth.

The Government’s decisions are enabling drivers to benefit from safer and smoother roads, while helping them to save money. Over £35 billion is being invested in local and strategic roads; the fuel duty freeze has been extended; and the fuel price finder launched. Alongside this, a £2 billion grant will support motorists who want to go electric and the Road Safety Strategy seeks to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.

The Government remains firmly committed to the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and has carefully considered the potential impact of electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) on consumer uptake of electric vehicles.

The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers. Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at the Budget in 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs.

The Government has set out the expected impacts of eVED and related Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK.

The Government published a consultation which provides further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its implementation, available at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-electric-vehicle-excise-duty-eved. The consultation closed on 18 March 2026 and the Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

Since 2022, the UK has participated in NATO's Locked Shields cyber defence exercise. From 2025, the UK limited its involvement due to the establishment of the new Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Force (DCEMF), which created transitional challenges that prevented the coherent commitment of resources. Now that DCEMF has stood up, the exercise is a priority within the UK Defensive Cyber Operating Programme to ensure that UK defensive cyber forces are fully prepared for NATO-led, large-scale warfighting.

For 2027, the UK intends to fully participate in NATO's Locked Shields exercise with a cross-government team, including the National Cyber Security Centre and UK Head Office, alongside a pan-Defence group of approximately 50 personnel. Planning is well advanced, and the UK contingent is expected to partner with either Norway or Hungary to test and enhance the UK’s preparedness in cyber defence.