Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 101037 on Furnaces: Scunthorpe, if he will publish that advice.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not intend to publish the findings of the independent advice as it is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105799 on Trade: Regulation, whether his Department plans to review the methodological approaches used to estimate the potential value associated with the (a) imposition and (b) removal of market access barriers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The different methodologies used by the department are under constant review. We publish updates on changes if and when changes are made.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was for the production of the Growth Gateway Masterclass on Fundraising in Africa.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Two masterclasses have been delivered using a catalytic model to build local capability, provide targeted expertise, mobilise investment, and support inclusive and sustainable growth. The training cost approximately £18,500 and has already delivered strong results, with one participating business securing £2.5 million in investment and others in ongoing discussions with investors.
Supporting economic prosperity, resilience, and partnerships for growth is particularly important in the context of reductions in Official Development Assistance. Africa is the world's fastest growing continent, and as the UK continues to move towards a trade and investment focused partnership, there are clear mutual benefits. Initiatives such as this masterclass support high growth African firms to scale, attract investment, and build lasting commercial links with the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with the American ambassador on tariffs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on 18 January. DBT Ministers and officials are in regular contact with all levels of the US Administration. Although I attended an event with the American Ambassador celebrating our shared trade, when we talked about a variety of subjects, including rugby, I have not specifically spoken to him about tariffs.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to carry out further consultations on section 68 of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Before section 68 is brought into force, the Employment Rights Act 2025 requires the Government to consider the impact of non-postal balloting on participation in industrial action ballots and lay a statement before Parliament setting out how regard has been given to any impact. The Government will undertake this requirement once electronic balloting has been established.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
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 10% tariff announced by the USA and the 25% tariff proposed from June on British businesses.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Having retained our cool-headed approach and robustly defended the rights of the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone to determine their future, we are glad that the President has announced that these tariffs will not be proceeding.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 104310, on Trade Barriers: Regulation, whether he intends to publish the results of the most recent business questionnaire on domestic regulation.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 21 October 2025, the Government launched a business questionnaire, ‘Unlocking Business: reform driven by you’, to gather feedback from UK businesses to identify outdated, duplicative, or disproportionate regulations and regulatory practices that hinder growth and innovation. The questionnaire concluded on 16 December 2025, and the responses are now being analysed by officials in the Department for Business and Trade. These will help to inform our Regulation for Growth programme going forward and we will publish our overall findings in due course
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 104305, on Trade: Regulation, what analysis he undertook in order to come to his conclusion.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In order to assess regulations as they affect business, the department employs a number of methodologies and draws on data from a wide variety of internal and external sources. We have not identified any data gaps that limit the Department’s ability to assess regulations. For example, in order to estimate the benefits of removing trade-related barriers facing UK exporters, the Department uses a methodology which is published on Gov.UK and continuously reviewed to ensure that it remains effective and proportionate, including consideration of any data challenges.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has identified any data gaps that limit its ability to quantify the cost of trade-related regulation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what mechanisms his Department uses to collect feedback from businesses on trade barriers arising from domestic regulation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has collected business feedback on domestic regulation through a business questionnaire and will continue to run the Business Perceptions Survey to gather quantitative data.