Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current level of confidence in the economy among small businesses; and how they plan to support small businesses.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Small businesses are vital to our communities and are essential to our economic success. Whilst we recognise the business environment has been difficult in recent times for many small businesses, according to the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer business confidence rose in June 2025 and is at its highest since 2015.
The upcoming SME Strategy Paper will outline our vision for small businesses to boost scale-ups, revitalise high streets, improve access to finance and markets. We are engaging with small business owners on the development of the Business Growth Service (BGS), to ensure that we deliver on our mission to make it easier for businesses to get the support they need to grow and thrive.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of artificial intelligence chatbots in toys aimed at children; and what plans they have to introduce regulations governing the use of AI in such products.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is actively exploring the implications of integrating artificial intelligence into consumer products including toys, particularly the regulatory challenges this poses for ensuring product safety. The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which completed its passage through Parliament on 10 July, grants new powers to help ensure the UK's regulatory framework remains responsive to emerging technologies such as AI.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of United States tariffs on UK businesses, and what steps they are taking to reduce those impacts.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK and the US have reached a deal which was announced on 8th May 2025. We continue to negotiate a wider economic deal with the United States that will further support our industries and safeguard jobs.
We have announced an additional £500 million in lending capacity under the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), delivered by the British Business Bank and we are also expanding UKEF’s business support package by £20 billion, £10 billion of which will be used specifically for businesses impacted by the current US tariffs.
Businesses concerned about the impact of US tariffs can also find clear guidance on business.gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of trade finance regulations on small businesses.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
An area of regulation that impacts the availability of trade finance to small business is the implementation of Basel 3.1 standards.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for setting capital requirements for UK credit institutions, such as banks and building societies, including those for trade finance-related activities. The PRA is currently implementing the final set of international banking reforms designed in response to the 2008 global financial crisis, known as Basel 3.1. The PRA's final Basel 3.1 proposals for trade finance tailor the Basel 3.1 standards to maintain capital requirements for the most material trade finance related activities. The PRA made this adjustment to its original proposals in light of the evidence provided by the International Chamber of Commerce which demonstrated that the current treatment was more appropriate.
In addition to regulatory reform, the Government is supporting small businesses to export by increasing UK Export Finance's capacity by £20bn to £80bn, allowing them to access government-backed finance and support to grow their presence both domestically and overseas.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the BBC report about high prices that businesses can pay to rent phone equipment on lengthy finance deals, what assessment they have made of the impact of finance agreements on equipment, such as phones, on small businesses.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made any assessment of the impact of financial agreements on equipment in relation to small businesses.
Businesses can reach out to the Business Support Service or their Local Growth Hub for further support and advice before taking out any finance agreements. Further financial support can be found via the Business Finance Finder on https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of artificial intelligence technologies on the customer service sector; and what steps they are taking to support job security in the sector.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In November 2023, the Department for Education published a report showing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on areas within the UK labour market and education The impact of AI on UK jobs and training - GOV.UK. The report noted that professional occupations are more exposed to AI, particularly those associated with more clerical work and across finance, law and business management roles.
The Government is committed to ensuring both learners and employers have access to crucial digital and artificial intelligence skills that have the potential to increase productivity and create new high value jobs in the UK economy. To achieve this, the Government is reforming the skills system. The Government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage businesses to increase their hiring rates; and whether further support is needed to help businesses expand their workforce.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to building a firm economic foundation, working closely with businesses and workers to kickstart and rebuild our economy.
The SME Strategy will be published later this summer, including the Business Growth Service that will make it easier for businesses to get the advice and support they need to grow and thrive. The Government-backed British Business Bank aims to improve access to finance to help businesses invest and grow.
Employment is central to the recently announced Industrial Strategy, supporting growth sectors to create high-quality, well-paid jobs across the country.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small businesses with receiving payments owed to them and to encourage the prompt repayment of invoices.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Late payments are one of the biggest problems facing small businesses and the self-employed.
In September 2024 we announced a package of new measures aimed at tackling late payments and supporting small businesses, these included:
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of energy costs on factory activity in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that high energy costs impact factory activity and undermine investment in manufacturing. Therefore, we announced in the Industrial Strategy the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme, to reduce industrial electricity prices by around 20-25% from 2027. This new scheme could benefit over 7,000 manufacturing businesses, including those in automotive and defence sectors. We will consult on precise eligibility shortly.
For existing Supercharger recipients, we will also increase Network Charging Compensation from 60% to 90%, saving eligible energy intensive industries a further £10 per megawatt-hour.
We are also continuing compensation of indirect carbon costs from electricity generation for eligible sectors.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of capital in the United Kingdom being invested overseas, particularly in the United States of America; and whether they intend to introduce measures to encourage greater investment within the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The total stock of UK assets invested abroad was £13.4 trillion in 2023 according to the ONS Pink Book of this £4.7 trillion was invested in the United States. While the total stock of foreign investment in the UK was £14.1 trillion in 2023. The UK government promotes and facilitates inward foreign direct investment in the UK through the newly expanded Office for Investment (OFI), FDI leads to direct economic benefits for the UK. The UK allows free movement of international capital, both inward and outward investment can lead to business opportunities, higher economic growth and higher investment returns.