Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on levels of investment in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This comprehensive agreement is expected to boost increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run.
This deal is expected to make trade between the UK cheaper and easier, which could encourage more businesses to expand and invest. In the East of England, science and technology hubs like Bedford will benefit from reduced tariffs on technologies such as medical devices, alongside improved customs processes.
We will set out further information on the regional impacts of this agreement in our Impact Assessment.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) improve toy safety and (b) protect children’s health.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold. Under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, all toys placed on the market must meet essential safety requirements. Following the Government Response to the Product Safety Review, government intends to perform sector reviews of product regulation and will also consider how cross-cutting hazards may impact consumer safety.
Government recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. The Bill powers will allow us to reflect modern supply chains and create a proportionate regulatory framework to ensure UK consumers are protected from risk, regardless of product origin or where purchased.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 impact of US tariffs on the bus and coach sector.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Buses and coaches are exempt from the additional 25% tariffs the US is imposing on the automotive sector. However, they are still included in the 10% baseline tariffs, posing challenges for businesses. In March 2025, the Minister for Local Transport launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, regularly bringing together industry experts to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. This government is committed to supporting the automotive sector, a crucial part of our manufacturing base. While preparing for all scenarios, our priority is to strengthen our economic relationship with the US through constructive discussions.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on improving public transport for construction workers accessing the site of the future Universal theme park.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government worked closely with Universal Destinations & Experiences to secure its first investment in Europe, which could be worth £50 billion in economic benefits, and create an estimate 28,000 jobs in the creative, hospitality and construction sectors. The Government will continue to work with Universal and other organisations involved in the delivery of this project to ensure operations are sustainable, which will include enabling construction and other workers to access the site via public transport.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 (a) protect and (b) support trade unions in (i) Bedfordshire, (ii) the East of England and (iii) the UK.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government believes that trade unions play a vital role in ensuring that workers have a genuine voice at work and have the ability to act collectively.
The Employment Rights Bill represents the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. Through the Bill, we will update trade union legislation to reduce unnecessary re-strictions on trade union activity, streamline the trade union recognition process, introduce a new right of access framework and enhance the rights and protections for trade union representatives. These reforms will help ensure that industrial relations are based on good faith negotiation and collective bargaining.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 support business and trade in market towns.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government values the historic role of market towns in the economic and social life of the United Kingdom and is focused on its plan to breathe life back into our high streets.
This means addressing anti-social behaviour and crime, stamping out late payments, empowering communities to make the most of vacant properties, strengthening the Post Office network, and reforming business rates. We are also working with the banking industry to roll out banking hubs, to ensure essential banking services are maintained for businesses and residents.
To drive further progress, we will publish a Small Business Strategy Command Paper later this year.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 Post Office on the number of expressions of interest for remaining directly-managed Crown Post Office branches.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the Minister responsible for the Government's interest in Post Office Limited, I meet regularly with the CEO and Chair of Post Office to discuss various issues related to Post Office Limited, including directly managed branches. My officials also meet regularly with Post Office and discuss a range of issues including directly-managed branches.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 support the cold chain sector with (a) resilience and (b) preparedness for potential disruption as a result of (i) heat waves, (ii) power loss and (iii) cyberattack.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) works with other departments and industry to proactively mitigate the risks and impacts of unplanned power outages, cyber-attacks, and severe weather events like heatwaves, through ongoing horizon-scanning, data sharing, and business engagement.
As part of the next UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), Government departments are inputting into an assessment of the resilience of the cold chain sector to rising temperatures and heatwaves. The assessment will identify cold chain vulnerabilities to heatwaves, explore adaptation responses, and develop an effective adaptation plan through to 2050. The outputs will be included in the next CCRA, to be published in 2027.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Crown post offices make a profit.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Directly Managed Branches are loss-making for the Post Office. As such, Post Office has been clear that it’s their ambition to operate the network on a fully franchised basis in time, as they believe that this is a more sustainable model. The Post Office's Transformation Plan aims to deliver a reduction in central costs and look seriously at other ways to deliver efficiencies.
The Post Office will however continue to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirement and geographical access criteria set by Government.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Security Industry Authority licence applications were made at a Crown Post Office last year.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
According to the Post Office, the number of Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence applications made at Directly Managed Branches for the 2023/2024 Financial Year was 15,150.
Across the total network, the number of SIA licensed applications made for the same Financial Year was 97,954.