Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support investment in businesses in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade supports regional growth by working with local areas to attract private investment, helping business to grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme. As part of the recent Office for Investment expansion, we work with local areas, leveraging public finance from institutions like the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank, to deliver strategic investments, aligned with the 10-year Infrastructure and Industrial strategies.
Carlsberg Britvic plans to invest £4 million in Staffordshire, supporting hundreds of jobs, and the approval, of the M54-M6 link road, will further boost the local economy.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the rights of older workers in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government’s Plan to Make Work Pay will strengthen employment rights for people, at all stages of their working lives, boosting fairness and equality in the workplace. Measures in the Employment Right’s Bill to make it easier to access flexible working may help older workers balance their work with changes in their personal circumstances. The existing right to one week of unpaid carer’s leave from day one may help older workers manage work and care commitments. The government is currently reviewing the implementation of unpaid Carer’s Leave, including examining the potential benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave, while being mindful of the cost and impact on small employers.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to support (a) pubs, (b) publicans and (c) the pub industry in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency since his appointment; and what plans he has to visit a public house in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government fully recognises the cultural and economic significance of pubs in communities, like Newcastle-under-Lyme and has taken a range of steps to support pubs and publicans.
We want planning and licensing systems to work fairly for businesses and residents and so we are creating a more balanced premises licensing system that not only safeguards communities but also supports responsible businesses. On 7 October the Government issued a Call for Evidence on Reforming the licensing system - GOV.UK (deadline: midday, 6 November 2025).
Additionally, we have cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, covering about 60% of pub sales saving pubs over £85m annually. We are also creating a fairer business rates system, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value
We continue to work closely with the sector, including through the Hospitality Sector Council, working together to address the challenges facing all hospitality businesses.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress his Department has made on improving parental rights for workers in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are strengthening rights for parents through the Employment Rights Bill, including making Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave ‘day one’ rights for qualifying employees, removing restrictions on taking Paternity Leave after Shared Parental Leave, strengthening flexible working rights, and bolstering protections for new and expectant mothers. We also launched the Parental Leave Review on 1 July which will consider how parental leave can better reflect modern work and childcare realities and support working families.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage private sector investment in businesses in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade supports regional growth by working with local areas to attract private investment, helping business to grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme. As part of the recent Office for Investment expansion, we work with local areas, leveraging public finance from institutions like the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank, to deliver strategic investments, aligned with the 10-year Infrastructure and Industrial strategies.
Carlsberg Britvic plans to invest £4 million in Staffordshire, supporting hundreds of jobs, and the approval, of the M54-M6 link road, will further boost the local economy.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 potential impact of the delivery of the Industrial Strategy on people in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting government investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). There are clusters of the IS-8 sectors across the whole country, and the policy package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by businesses in these sectors.
To ensure robust and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the Industrial Strategy, we have chosen six economic indicators that reflect a range of desirable objectives for the IS-8 and the economy as a whole, which will be tracked at the economy-wide, sector and place level. Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy will be overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council who will take a data-led approach.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken ensure the continued availability of post office services in rural communities in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire since his appointment.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government protects the sustainability of the Post Office network - and the rural network in particular - by providing an annual Network Subsidy. This ensures Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the Government-set access criteria.
This financial year we are providing £83 million in subsidy, up from £50 million previously, and building on the uplift provided last year. The access criteria ensures that, however the network changes, 99% of the UK population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the African Business Chamber since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department expects to be represented at the African Business Chamber’s November 2025 Business Forum. The Department is happy to meet with the African Business Chamber to discuss further our work.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Kenya on the sunset clause on investment in the UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) does not contain expiry provisions or ‘sunset clauses’, so preferential market access will continue indefinitely. The EPA does include a ‘rendez-vous clause’, committing Parties to conclude negotiations on areas such as investment. This was discussed at the UK-Kenya EPA Committee of Senior Officials in 2022.
At the 2023 Ministerial EPA Council, both sides agreed to accelerate efforts to remove investment barriers, and the UK held workshops with Kenyan officials in March 2025 to support this.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 impact of the Economic Partnership Agreement on (a) African and (b) Caribbean countries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade engages closely with partner governments and businesses to gather feedback on tariff arrangements, including Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with African and Caribbean countries. Whilst this feedback is not shared externally, the Government does publish two sets of UK trade data with developing countries: statistics on UK utilisation of tariff preferences under trade agreements, and country factsheets outlining broader trade relationships.
These data sources are available on the gov.uk website.