Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in levels of business confidence in the hospitality sector in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While the Department does not produce constituency-level assessments of business confidence, government closely monitors business confidence across the hospitality sector.
We have introduced targeted support measures to strengthen the sector’s resilience. These include permanently reduced business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, a substantial enhancement of the Hospitality Support Fund, initiatives to streamline regulatory requirements, and progress on licensing reform toward a new National Licensing Policy Framework. This framework is designed to offer greater flexibility for pubs and hospitality venues, enabling them to prosper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 the creation of well-paid jobs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the creation of jobs and opportunities across the UK, including in the Surrey Heath constituency. We are doing this by supporting small and medium sized businesses to export, including developing a new Business Growth Service to simplify finding the advice and support they need. We are also supporting high streets by delivering long overdue reforms to rebalance the business rates system. We have also developed the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and are investing in growth sectors like life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121982 on Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention, what the expected timeframe is for publishing the evidence submitted to the consultation on UK accession to the Pan‑Euro‑Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government’s response to the call for evidence on UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) was published on 26th March 2026.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential economic merits for (a) the Treasury and (b) UK businesses of the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the UK’s Trade Strategy, the government recognised the potential merits and impacts of UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) and committed to engaging business further. The government ran a five-week call for evidence from November to December last year to understand the potential impacts of accession on businesses. The Government will publish the findings in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating UK access into the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the UK’s Trade Strategy, the government recognised the potential merits and impacts of UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) and committed to engaging business further. The government ran a five-week call for evidence from November to December last year to understand the potential impacts of accession on businesses. The Government will publish the findings in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an economic security agreement with the European Union to mitigate potential geopolitical shocks.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have continued to enhance our cooperation with the EU on a range of economic security issues of mutual concern since the UK-EU Summit in 2025. The EU remains our most important trading partner, our economies are deeply interconnected and face many of the same challenges and threats, and we share a commitment to upholding the rules-based order. In February 2026, DBT Secretary of State (along with Chancellor for the Exchequer) met EU Commissioners Sefcovic and Dombrovksis to discuss trade and economic issues, including economic security.
The UK and EU will hold a second Summit in 2026, where we will seek to further strengthen our partnership on economic security.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the EU's Industrial Accelerator Act on UK producers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government notes the publication of the proposed EU Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) and the wider Made in Europe agenda. In general, the proposal suggests that UK content would be considered equivalent to “Union origin” by default for public procurement and public support schemes (e.g. subsidies). However, some of the specific automotive provisions are very concerning and we are in close touch with industry on this. The proposal remains at the Commission stage and is subject to legislative processes. We will continue to monitor its progress and press the EU to avoid any detrimental impact on the UK and EU’s automotive sectors and on our uniquely integrated UK-EU supply chains.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a long-term deal on steel tariffs with the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and EU are close partners with shared interests. We are engaging intensively on steel tariffs with the European Commission and are working to find a bilateral solution that protects vital UK-EU steel trade. We have made clear that restricting UK access to the EU market would disrupt key supply chains and harm both our industries.
In parallel, we are also prioritising the development of a robust measure of our own in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June to protect our domestic sector, making sure we maintain secure and resilient supply chains.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the potential impact of future European Union tariffs on UK steel exports.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and EU are close partners with shared interests. We are engaging intensively on steel tariffs with the European Commission and are working to find a bilateral solution that protects vital UK-EU steel trade. We have made clear that restricting UK access to the EU market would disrupt key supply chains and harm both our industries.
In parallel, we are also prioritising the development of a robust measure of our own in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June to protect our domestic sector, making sure we maintain secure and resilient supply chains.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of its red lines for negotiations with the EU on protecting critical industries from the imposition of tariffs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and EU are close partners with shared interests. We have agreed tariff free trade with the EU under the TCA, and we expect the EU to honour these obligations. The new steel tariff measures announced by the EU therefore present significant concern. We are engaging intensively with the European Commission to find a bilateral solution that protects vital UK-EU steel trade. We have made clear that restricting UK access to the EU market would disrupt key supply chains and harm both our industries.