Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister plans to respond to the letter of 13 February 2025 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

A response was issued on 19 March 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department offers paternity leave to its staff from their first working day.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All staff working for the department and its arm’s length bodies are entitled to paternity leave, subject to qualifying service, which varies between organisations.

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, or because their organisation offers it on day 1.

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.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 5 March 2025, Official Record Column 273, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the US administration on a UK-US trade deal.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK-US relationship is already very strong, with trade of around £300 billion, and shared investment of over £1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The Prime Minister and President Trump met on 27 February and agreed to deepen this relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has also been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries, and will continue to make every effort to support British business.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 5 March 2025, Official Report, column 273, what discussions officials in his Department have had with US officials on a UK-US trade deal.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK-US relationship is already very strong, with trade of around £300 billion, and shared investment of over £1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The Prime Minister and President Trump met on 27 February and agreed to deepen this relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has also been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries, and will continue to make every effort to support British business.

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 United States Secretary of Commerce.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK-US relationship is already very strong, with trade of around £300 billion, and shared investment of over £1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The Prime Minister and President Trump met on 27 February and agreed to deepen this relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has also been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries, and will continue to make every effort to support British business.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has allocated a lead negotiator to negotiate a potential UK-US free trade agreement.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Department for Business and Trade’s Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations (TPIN) Group operates a flexible resourcing model to maximise efficiency across priorities. The DBT team for UK-US trade includes an allocated lead negotiator.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 5 March 2025, column 273, how many officials from his Department have travelled to the United States to discuss a potential UK-US trade deal since 20 January 2025; and on what dates.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Prime Minister travelled to Washington DC to meet with President Trump on 27 February. During their meeting, they agreed to deepen the UK-US relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and UK government officials will be travelling to the US during the week beginning 17 March to meet with members of the US administration.

Found: Andrew Griffith, shadow secretary of state for business and trade, replied by summarising the Conservative

Found: Andrew Griffith, shadow secretary of state for business and trade, replied by summarising the Conservative

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Found: _NC89 Andrew Griffith Greg Smith Dame Harriett Baldwin .

Found: _NC88 Andrew Griffith Greg Smith Dame Harriett Baldwin .

Found: Not called_NC83 Andrew Griffith Greg Smith Dame Harriett Baldwin .