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, when he last received advice on the cost of decontaminating the site of the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks in the event of decomissioning.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe.
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 17 December to Question 99540 on British Steel, when he last received advice on the cost of decommissioning the blast furnaces at the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe.
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, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department’s international trade advisors for negotiating new free trade agreements.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Member is confusing two separate roles. Our International Trade Advisors (ITAs) support businesses to sell overseas: they do not conduct trade negotiations, which are led by chief negotiators, who are senior DBT officials.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 97277 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English Billing Authorities on 26 November 2025 so that the calculation for Base Liability aligns with the case studies in the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Factsheet.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) is already aligned with the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure factsheet.
On 15 December 2025, the government published the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief local authority guidance which is intended to support billing authorities in administering the scheme. It can be viewed on gov.uk here.
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 cost to the a) private sector and b) public sector of abolishing the caps on unfair dismissal compensation claims.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government will be publishing an Enactment Impact Assessment on the impacts of the Employment Rights Act. This will include an assessment of the removal of the compensation cap for unfair dismissal on different sectors. This assessment can be found here when published: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.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, what estimate he has made of the cost of decommissioning the blast furnaces at the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
British Steel remains privately owned and estimated costs to decommission the blast furnaces is commercially sensitive information.
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of non-tariff measures to consumer prices on different UK Standard Industrial Classification groups.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has not published a specific, comprehensive assessment detailing the potential impact of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on consumer prices across all individual UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) groups.
DBT produces indicative valuation estimates for market access barriers using a range of methodologies including ad valorem equivalents (AVEs). The method estimates how export demand, and therefore export value, could change in response to the removal of NTM-associated costs and subsequent price changes. The methodology could be found at Methodologies for valuing market access barriers - GOV.UK. This methodology does not provide an assessment across all individual SIC groups.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the proportion of UK firms that have undergone post-clearance verification processes in each of the last three years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance, focusing on areas where there is the greatest risk of tax going unpaid.
The number of businesses involved in international trade activities is published annually as the “Customs Importer and Exporter Population” (GOV.UK).
HMRC carries out post-clearance verification on customs declarations for reasons other than compliance, including at the request of other customs authorities and to support applications for customs authorisations. This supports the UK Governments international obligations, including those under Free Trade Agreements.
Year | Number of PCA’s |
2022/23 | 6,727 |
2023/24 | 9,246 |
2024/25 | 10,357 |
These figures may include multiple verifications per business, and the business may not be headquartered or established in the United Kingdom. It should also be noted that the verification may not be in the same year that a customs declaration was 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, whether she plans to consider resuming exports of defence equipment to Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 18 September to Question 72496.
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, for what reason the suspension of arms sales to Israel is not listed on his Department and Export Control Joint Unit's official guidance.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The suspension of licences on 2 September 2024 was announced in a Written Statement to Parliament published by the then Secretary of State for Business and Trade and in the then Foreign Secretary’s Oral Statement on that date. The suspension was also communicated publicly via a Notice to Exporters, and any exporters impacted by the decision were contacted directly.
The UK’s export control guidance includes general information on the regulatory framework for strategic export controls, our lists of controlled items and the circumstances where exporters might need an export licence.