Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
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.
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, 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.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
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.
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, 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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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 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.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many UK nationals emigrated from the UK for long-term purposes in the (a) third and (b) fourth quarter of 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports of 26 February 2025, Official Report, column 857, what progress his Department has made on creating the new business growth service.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have begun engagement and consultation with SMEs, business representative bodies, the devolved governments, local government, the Growth Hubs network and other key stakeholders to determine further details on the design, development and implementation of the Business Growth Service before its launch date this summer.
The Business Growth Service will simplify the government’s business support ecosystem, with locally led support underpinned by an improved online service. It will help realise the government’s Small Business Strategy, complementing the Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy and Make Work Pay plans as part of a comprehensive approach to our Growth Mission.
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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports of 26 February 2025, Official Report, column 857, whether his Department plans to undertake public consultation before bringing forward legislative proposals to reduce late payments.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In September 2024 we announced a package of measures to help ensure small businesses are paid promptly by the large businesses they supply.
This included launching a new Fair Payment Code and a commitment to including payment performance information in large companies’ annual reports, and the launch of a public consultation.
We will soon be launching our public consultation on further measures to address late payments and long payment terms, including new powers for the Small Business Commissioner to tackle large businesses who pay late.