Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of more generous provision in law for paternity leave.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government recognises that the current parental leave and pay system could do more to support dads and partners who want to be more actively involved in supporting their partner and children.
We have already taken steps to make this easier. Through the Employment Rights Act, dads and partners are now eligible for Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave from their first day of employment.
We are also undertaking a Review of the Parental Leave and Pay system. All existing parental leave and pay entitlements are within scope, including paternity leave and pay. The Review will conclude in early 2027.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of businesses were assessed as being in critical financial distress in the second quarter of this year in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland; and how these figures compare with those recorded in each of the preceding four quarters.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Official data on business vulnerability is not published by the Department.
Growth is this government’s number one mission and our plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street. The Small Business Plan was launched in July 2025 and contains 200 targeted actions which will make a real difference to the operations of small businesses and help them grow. With a £4bn finance boost to increase access to finance for entrepreneurs, the British Business Bank promotes the provision of better access-to-finance information for UK SMEs. The Growth Guarantee Scheme helps businesses access loans up to £2 million per business group to be used for any business purpose, including growth and investment or working capital.
On 14th July 2026, the Chancellor announced access-to-finance measures through supporting:
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what figures they have on the amount of illegal tobacco seized by trading standards offices in the past 12 months; whether they plan to publish them; and what plans they have to publish comparable figures for each of the three preceding years.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
HMRC publish information on enforcement activity through the Annual Outputs for tackling tobacco smuggling publication. The 25/26 publication shows Trading Standards seized over 35 million illicit cigarettes and more than 8,000kg of illicit hand-rolling tobacco in 2025/26, preventing revenue losses of over £25m. HMRC intend to continue publishing this information annually and previous publications also contain information on Trading Standards activity.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the amount of additional water required to the meet the needs of AI and associated industries and services; and whether they have targets for additional supply of water for each of the regions of England.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, works with DEFRA, the Environment Agency and others to ensure that AI-enabled data infrastructure does not compromise public water supply resilience. Water resource planning in England is undertaken through statutory Water Resources Management Plans prepared by water companies, regional water resources plans, and the Environment Agency's National Framework for Water Resources.
The Government supports the adoption of efficient cooling technologies (closed-loop systems) and alternative sources like rainwater harvesting. National planning policy embeds consideration of sustainable water use and resource efficiency in decision making. In 2025, a techUK–Environment Agency survey found that 51% of surveyed sites use closed loop cooling systems, and 64% use less than 10,000m³ of water per year. This is small compared to other sectors.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to the impact, if any, on steel supplies to the defence industry in the UK when assessing the changes to tariff-free quotas on category 4 galvanised steel imports.
Answered by Lord Sarwar - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The measure aims to strike the right balance for UK industry, protecting domestic production while maintaining a secure supply. We need more UK steel in our defence industries - relying on imports at a time of global uncertainty puts the resilience and security of supply chains at risk. We have engaged extensively with industry, including the defence sector, to inform the design of the measure and have sized our quotas appropriately.
The Government continues to engage with producers and downstream users to understand the impact of the measure and will carry out a full review after 12 months.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for the "action necessary to safeguard the domestic production of steel" referred to in the King's Speech made on 13 May.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government introduced the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill to Parliament on 14 May, the day following the King’s Speech. The Government is strongly minded to use the powers in the Bill to bring British Steel into public ownership to safeguard strategic capability, subject to the public interest test to be agreed by Parliament being met.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the increase in the cost of input prices for manufacturing industries in the UK, arising from the Iran conflict.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Government is managing the economic consequences of the conflict across the whole of the UK. The UK’s economic fundamentals remain strong. The supply of inputs and commodities remains stable and generally well diversified.
Impacts on input cost increases are uncertain. They are likely to vary across industry sectors and businesses depending on which inputs are used, their importance in the cost base, and contracting arrangements – whether prices have been fixed or hedged in advance.
Government is working closely with business groups and industry leaders to understand the pressures facing industry and will be agile in responding as the situation develops.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the £2.5 billion fund to support the steel industry has been allocated to be spent in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s intention to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. This is in addition to the £500 million for Port Talbot.
Building on the direct financial support the government has provided to the sector so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the UK government’s main mechanism for providing financing for investment in the steel sector. Investment decisions are made by the National Wealth Fund on a case-by-case basis and it supports promising projects across the United Kingdom
Specifically for Wales, the Secretary of State for Wales will convene the National Wealth Fund and the private sector in a new initiative to help attract investment to Welsh steel projects, to support communities across Wales that rely on the industry.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the total cost of the compensation claims against the Post Office for wrongful action against sub-postmasters.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
As of 27 February 2026, approximately £1.475 billion has been paid to over 11,500 claimants across the Horizon redress schemes. The Department publishes monthly reports updating this figure. Total spend to date and future commitments for victims of the Horizon scandal are estimated at £2.3 billion. In addition, over £1.6 million has been paid to claimants under the Capture redress scheme since its launch on 29 October 2025
The Government has not set a cap on either the Horizon or Capture redress schemes. The final cost will depend on how many victims come forward and the specific circumstances of their claims.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Chinese-owned businesses there were in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales and (4) Northern Ireland on the latest date for which information is available.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
Statistics on foreign owned businesses are published separately by each of the devolved nations. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and cover registered businesses only.
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:
Scottish Government:
Businesses in Scotland: 2025 - gov.scot
Welsh Government:
Ad-hoc statistical requests: 3 to 14 November 2025 | GOV.WALES
There are no statistics published for Chinese owned business in England.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics for the UK which show that in 2022 there were 349 Chinese-owned businesses in the UK.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics, UK, 2018 to 2022 - Office for National Statistics
The ONS statistics are compiled from a different source and are not comparable to the statistics published by the devolved nations.