Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to hold online marketplaces to account for dangerous products sold through their platforms; and when he plans to launch a consultation on the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025's measures in relation to product safety.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market. However, we recognise that the supply of unsafe goods via online marketplaces is a significant issue. The Government has therefore put in place the Product Regulation and Metrology Act (2025), which allows us to introduce new and clearer responsibilities for e-commerce businesses, whilst promoting consumer safety and ensuring fairer competition.
Government has committed to consult on proposals to modernise and clarify these responsibilities at the earliest opportunity, building upon best practice to create an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to regulate online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market. However, we recognise that the supply of unsafe goods via online marketplaces is a significant issue. The Government has therefore put in place the Product Regulation and Metrology Act (2025), which allows us to introduce new and clearer responsibilities for e-commerce businesses, whilst promoting consumer safety and ensuring fairer competition.
Government has committed to consult on proposals to modernise and clarify these responsibilities at the earliest opportunity, building upon best practice to create an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement on the UK; and if he will publish a report on that agreement since its implementation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department’s impact assessment of the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was published under the previous government on 28th February 2022. This impact assessment set out the potential long-run incremental economic impact of the FTA and is available on gov.uk. On a recent visit to New Zealand I saw how the FTA – and the trade advantages consequent upon our membership of the CPTPP – are being used.
The Department is currently considering our approach to FTA Monitoring, and we will provide an update on this in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement on the UK; and if he will publish a report on that agreement since its implementation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department’s impact assessment of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreements was published under the previous government on 16th December 2021. This impact assessment set out the potential long-run incremental economic impact of the FTA and is available on gov.uk. On a recent visit to Australia for the CPTPP Commission I saw how the FTA – and the trade advantages consequent upon our membership of the CPTPP – are being used.
The Department is currently considering our approach to FTA Monitoring, not least because we want to see how effectively FTAs are being used by UK businesses and we will provide an update on this in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress he has made on negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The eighth round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement with Switzerland took place in Switzerland between 20 and 24 October 2025. The round saw positive progress and Round 9 of negotiations is set to take place in the UK in early 2026.
The UK and Switzerland have agreed a further extension to the existing UK-Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement up to 31 December 2029.
An enhanced FTA with Switzerland aims to deliver long-term certainty for UK services firms, building on the £19.5bn of services we already export to Switzerland[1], which is our 6th largest services export market.
[1] UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to restart negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and Canada.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no plans to resume FTA negotiations, but growing our bilateral trade remains a shared priority, which is why the two Prime Ministers established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, including by addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements, including digital.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to allow businesses to (a) engage with and (b) support the process of drafting a free trade agreement with Canada.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement underpinning around £28 billion worth of bilateral trade last year.
There are currently no plans to resume FTA negotiations. However, growing bilateral trade remains a shared priority and we have established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it her policy to make 12 July 2027 a public holiday to mark the 1100th anniversary of the unification of England under King Athelstan.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and the Government has no plans to create a one-off bank holiday to mark the 1100th anniversary of the unification of England under King Athelstan.
While an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy is considerable. The latest analysis estimates the cost to the UK economy for a one-off bank holiday to be around £2 billion.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has recently funded two projects that explore Athelstan and his history in Kingston and Malmesbury.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group has made since its establishment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn in line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June. Since this meeting, officials have been engaging with the government of Canada at all levels to explore ways to deepen our trading relationship further.
Specifically, we intend to work together to address existing market access barriers, to expand existing arrangements into new areas, such as digital trade, and to explore cooperation in the development of critical minerals and sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether external stakeholders will be invited to provide input into the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group’s consideration of market access barriers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Working Group will meet this Autumn and will consist of officials from the UK and Canadian Governments.
We are open to the views of any relevant businesses with an interest in UK-Canada trade.