First elected: 12th December 2019
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Andrew Griffith, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Andrew Griffith has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to authorise the use of resources for the year ending with 31 March 2023; to authorise the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund for that year; and to appropriate the supply authorised by this Act for that year.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 25th October 2022 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to require dog keepers to register a dog’s DNA on a database; to make provision about such databases and about the information held on them; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to make vehicle registration offences under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 attract driving record penalty points; and for connected purposes.
Andrew Griffith has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Attorney General’s Office receives shared HR services from the Government Legal Department (GLD) and the criteria for applying for paternity leave is that the individual must have worked for GLD for at least 26 continuous weeks or immediately prior to the 15th week before the baby’s due date (where there is a pregnancy) and for adoption, either by the end of the week they are matched with the child (UK adoptions) or the date the child enters the UK or when they want their pay to start (overseas adoptions).
Some staff could qualify for statutory paternity leave on their first day of service with their department because they already have qualifying service with another Civil Service organisation.
Under the Employment Rights Bill currently before Parliament, subject to Parliamentary approval paternity leave will become a day one right across the Civil Service.
As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.
UK national travellers will be required to register in the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). Exemptions will be in place for UK nationals who are Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries or otherwise long-term resident in the EU. Implementation of the EES is a matter for the EU and its Member States, and subject to ongoing EU legislative processes.
The Government publishes an annual report with details of activities under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act each financial year. This includes the number of notifications received by month, number of final notifications (acquisitions which are called in for detailed review and then cleared), and notifications received by origin of investment. Annual reports can be viewed on GOV.UK.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th March is attached.
Contracts are established between the supplier and the individual contracting authority.
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published shortly.
To be eligible for statutory paternity leave, Cabinet Office policy currently requires employees to meet a series of qualifying conditions, including the requirement to have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the date the baby is due.
As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in line with the Government’s legislation on employment rights. .
The last public bodies landscape, a publication showing spend and headcount data of arms length bodies, was last published for 2019/20. An updated version of this publication, covering data from 2022-23, will be published on gov.uk in due course.
In accordance with the Civil Service policy for Permanent Secretary roles, the DBT Second Permanent Secretary was appointed for a period of five years (August 2017 - August 2022). The period of appointment was subsequently extended to December 2024.
The statutory basis for the management of the Civil Service is set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Act requires the Civil Service Commission, which is independent of Government, to publish a set of principles to be applied for the purposes of appointing civil servants on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The recruitment principles are published here:
https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/publications/recruitment-guidance/
Staff recruited by the Civil Service Commission are employed by the Cabinet Office and seconded to the Commission for the duration of the time in their role. The Civil Service Commission is independent; its staff operate under the direction of the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Civil Service Commissioners.
As Cabinet Office employees, staff in the Civil Service Commission are subject to Cabinet Office contractual terms and conditions (for example in relation to salary and leave entitlements) and are supported in the application of these by the Cabinet Office's corporate functions.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010) to provide assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and to help safeguard an impartial Civil Service. The Commission is independent of Government and of the Civil Service.
The Commission acts in accordance with its legislation and takes direction from the independent First Civil Service Commissioner and the independent Civil Service Commissioners, who are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition following the principles set out in the CSC’s Recruitment Principles and in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010). The Commission is independent.
The Cabinet Office, through the Propriety and Constitution Group, sponsors the Civil Service Commission and has appropriate sponsorship arrangements in place to carry out this function whilst safeguarding its independence. The governance and accountability arrangements for the Commission are set out in its ‘Governance Statement’ in the latest Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-commission-annual-report-and-accounts-202223
The published Civil Service Commission 2022/2023 Annual Report shows the current Interim Chief Executive began the role on 15 May 2023. An external recruitment process to appoint a permanent Chief Executive was launched in May 2024 and is expected to conclude in September 2024.
The Civil Service Commission is the independent regulator of Civil Service recruitment and carries out its functions independently of Government and in line with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
On Friday 30 August the Civil Service Commissioner wrote to departments, including the CO, to say that they would carry out a short review of appointments made by exception since 1 July.
The UK has been negotiating a modern and ambitious free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council to boost economic growth, raise wages, and increase investment since June 2022. Negotiations have now reached an advanced stage, with both sides working hard and at pace to resolve the remaining issues. As the Honorable Member should know, timetables can be counter-productive when seeking to agree a trade deal and can lead to perverse outcomes. We are focused on securing the right deal that delivers growth and offers real benefits to British businesses and investors, rather than getting it done by a specific date.
The UK Government acted quickly to prioritise rapid support for Jaguar Land Rover’s operations, with a partial guarantee for a commercial loan, through UK Export Finance (UKEF)’s Export Development Guarantee.
We are not able to comment on the detail of current transactions for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
We are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps.
The government is also working closely with UK industry, including through a roundtable with industry held on the 9 October, to understand potential impacts and solutions, and to assess how best to secure the UK’s supply chains in light of these developments.
As ever, this government will always put the UK’s national interest first, and is committed to defending our critical steel industry, protecting skilled jobs and supporting economic growth as part of our Plan for Change. We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships.
We will do so as soon as possible once the Trade and Agriculture Commission have provided advice on the agreement, which will enable us to produce the necessary Section 42 report, and trigger the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process thereafter.
In recent months, Ministers and officials have had short, factual discussions with the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding British Steel Limited, most recently during the Business & Trade Secretary’s visit to China on 10-11 September.
We continue to engage directly with British Steel’s owner to find the best solution for the Scunthorpe site.
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will focus on accelerating decarbonisation of UK and Chinese industry, and identifying opportunities for commercial collaboration in relevant subsectors linked to industrial decarbonisation, such as CCUS.
Further discussion on areas of focus will take place at the first meeting.
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will comprise officials from the Department for Business and Trade and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Agreement to establish a UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group was an outcome of the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue between the Department of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025.
Discussions on scheduling the first meeting of the group are ongoing.
There has been a consistent senior civil servant presence on British Steel's Scunthorpe site since 12 April, supporting British Steel's management team and providing oversight of public funds. The senior civil servants are supported on site by a range of staff from the Department for Business and Trade and UK Government Investments.
Existing legislation aims to keep disciplinary and grievance procedures internal to the workplace. Expanding the right to be accompanied to professional bodies, including legal professionals, may reduce the prospects of amicable resolution, potentially increasing employment tribunals and therefore legal costs for all parties.
The law already provides that workers are entitled to bring a companion who is either a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a workplace trade union representative. Employers can allow workers to be accompanied by a companion outside of this scope and some workers may already have a contractual right to do so.
Under existing legislation, we would not expect to see a difference in cost to the employer between a disciplinary or grievance hearing where the worker has a companion or does not have a companion. If the worker were to be accompanied by a trade union representative, the worker would pay for this through their trade union membership.
Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK
The full treaty, including goods tariff schedules and rules of origin annexes are published on Gov.uk and have been laid in the House. The Government will implement the changes to UK tariffs in line with usual procedures.
The UK–India trade deal includes mobility provisions that support short-term business mobility for highly skilled professionals. These provisions do not affect the UK’s points-based immigration system and are not expected to add to net migration in the long term.
The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) that the UK is negotiating with India will be a standard reciprocal social security agreement, similar to those the UK has covering 22 countries and the European Union. The DCC will not make it cheaper to hire Indian workers and nothing in the agreement will change our immigration regime.
Modelling and assumptions related to the DCC are not included in the FTA’s Impact Assessment, as the DCC is a separate treaty. The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the trade deal including the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event once the DCC is finalised and ratified.
The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.
The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.
The UK recognises that investors state dispute settlement provisions as an interest of UK business. In parallel to the Free Trade Agreement, we are negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty to progress UK interests. These talks have not concluded, and the agreement remains under discussion.
As we set out in the Modern Industrial Strategy, the manufacture of small satellites and payloads are a clear priority and strength of the UK space sector that this Government will support. Small satellites and their payloads are key to unlocking the benefits of Low Earth Orbit and several of our Industrial Strategy interventions will support this ambition. This includes a stronger focus on specific capabilities in Low Earth Orbit, new financial support mechanisms to accelerate scaling up manufacturing capacity and increased work with investors to identify suitable routes to private growth capital.
The UK aerospace sector is a global leader in aircraft innovation. Through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, the Government is investing up to £2.3 billion in R&D to 2035. This includes over £34 million awarded to Vertical Aerospace, supporting its development of electric vertical take-off landing (eVTOL) aircraft and reinforcing the UK’s position in sustainable aviation. Such support will enable the government to meet its objective of commercial piloted eVTOL from 2028.
The Business and Trade Secretary had a warm introductory conversation with his Canadian counterpart Minister Sidhu at the G7, where they discussed the bilateral trading relationship and agreed to work together on deepening and growing the bilateral trading relationship further. They did not discuss a trade deal with Argentina.
Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with trade underpinned by our existing trade agreement worth around £28 billion in 2024.
Growing our bilateral trade is a shared priority. As agreed between our Prime Ministers at the G7, the UK and Canada have established a new Working Group to deepen the bilateral trading relationship further. This includes seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade and expanding existing arrangements into new areas, including digital trade.
The Working Group will begin meeting in the months ahead and report back to both Prime Ministers within six months.
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
The Department engages regularly with other government departments including the FCDO. As set out in our Trade Strategy our overseas network is a critical asset for British businesses. The network is led by nine HM Trade Commissioners who work closely with HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners around the world to support UK exports. This includes helping businesses to build local relationships, providing advice on market conditions and regulations, and promoting UK goods and services in a unified "Team UK spirit".
The government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events by clamping down on exploitative practices in the ticket resale market. We ran a consultation earlier this year to seek views on a range of proposals, including a price cap that would restrict the price at which tickets could lawfully be resold.
We are currently reviewing all the evidence that we received in response to our consultation, including insights on international comparisons and operational requirements. We will set out our plans in the government response, which we intend to publish later this summer.
The government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events by clamping down on exploitative practices in the ticket resale market. We ran a consultation earlier this year to seek views on a range of proposals, including a price cap that would restrict the price at which tickets could lawfully be resold.
We are currently reviewing all the evidence that we received in response to our consultation, including insights on international comparisons and operational requirements. We will set out our plans in the government response, which we intend to publish later this summer.
The government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events by clamping down on exploitative practices in the ticket resale market. We ran a consultation earlier this year to seek views on a range of proposals, including a price cap that would restrict the price at which tickets could lawfully be resold.
We are currently reviewing all the evidence that we received in response to our consultation, including insights on international comparisons and operational requirements. We will set out our plans in the government response, which we intend to publish later this summer.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 65668.
Marketing including paid advertising is necessary to reach a target audience of senior business decision makers, raising awareness of the UK’s new modern industrial strategy and the opportunities it presents for business growth. The Department of Business and Trade declares all advertising and media spend above £25,000 through its monthly transparency reporting process. These figures are published on gov.uk.
The UK is an excellent place to do business, and in 2023 scored in the top 3 G20 countries on regulatory quality according to the World Bank [Regulatory Quality: Percentile Rank | Data]. However, businesses have told us that regulation can be too complex, stifle progress and innovation, with 45% businesses agreeing that regulation was an obstacle to their success in 2022, according to DBT’s Business Perceptions Survey. Our Action Plan for Regulation aims to reduce these burdens for businesses, including by cutting the administrative costs for business by 25% by the end of this Parliament.
To deliver growth across the UK, and support businesses and consumers, UK Government officials have been engaging with officials from the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and Northern Ireland Executive, on its Action Plan to overhaul our regulatory system, including the target to reduce the administrative cost of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. Whilst the territorial scope relates to reserved matters, the Government is committed to collaborating with the devolved governments, including at Ministerial level using intergovernmental structures where appropriate, to ensure that reforms benefit the maximum number of people around the UK.