Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's business environment.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is focused on creating a stronger business environment by making the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship.
Through the Small Business Plan, we are tackling late payments, improving access to finance for start-ups, and cutting unnecessary red tape. The new Business Growth Service supports SMEs with digital adoption and facilitates international trade and investment.
As part of the Regulation Action Plan, published in March 2025, we have committed to reducing the administrative burden on businesses by 25% by the end of the Parliament.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 ensure that workers injured through contact with construction equipment have a legal right to access service, maintenance, and operational records relating to that equipment, where such access is currently denied on the basis of contractual arrangements between suppliers and contractors.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade recognises the importance of ensuring that workers injured through contact with construction equipment are able to access relevant support.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) launched its Health Safety and Wellbeing Strategy in July 2025 at an industry event attended by over 150 leaders including the then Minister for Industry. The CLC will be publishing its Health, Safety and Wellbeing Action Plan in November 2026.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 Competition and Markets Authority on the process for assessing the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are independent of Government. The CMA reviews cases that meet certain jurisdictional tests and considers whether it believes a merger could result in a substantial lessening of competition.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 implications for UK competition policy of the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 merits of regulating the use of (a) workplace culture and (b) employer-of-the-year award to ensure such awards do not misrepresent compliance with equality and employment law.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has no plans to regulate the use of such awards.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 effectiveness of Employment Tribunal penalties in deterring repeated breaches of employment law by large employers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has not undertaken such an assessment, however; through the Plan for Change we will ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, contributing to economic growth. As part of this we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) animal welfare charities and (b) other stakeholders on the potential impacts of fireworks use on (i) pets and (ii) livestock.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Building on the work of my predecessor and to inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks on livestock and pets.
The insights from these discussions, as well as from animal welfare campaigns and correspondence helped to inform the public campaign on fireworks safety that I have launched for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign features new guidance for those running community fireworks events, as well as social media materials that encourage the public to consider the welfare of animals when using fireworks.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with consumer protection bodies on the potential impact of businesses that do not provide direct human customer services contact on the level of service provided to consumers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government expects all businesses to treat their consumers fairly. Businesses are required under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to provide contact information in a clear and comprehensible manner which is easily, directly and permanently accessible. This includes the business name, the geographical address where the business is established, a telephone number, and email address.
As long as businesses comply with this requirement, the mechanisms they use to provide customer services is a commercial decision that the government does not normally seek to intervene in.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 encourage businesses to promote customer contact by providing (a) phone numbers (b) email addresses (c) live chat for customers and (d) multiple contact options.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government expects all businesses to treat their consumers fairly. Businesses are required under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to provide contact information in a clear and comprehensible manner which is easily, directly and permanently accessible. This includes the business name, the geographical address where the business is established, a telephone number, and email address.
As long as businesses comply with this requirement, the mechanisms they use to provide customer services is a commercial decision that the government does not normally seek to intervene in.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve the enforcement of legal protections for women returning to work after maternity leave.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Women returning from maternity, adoption, or six continuous weeks of shared parental or neonatal leave are entitled to enhanced redundancy protection. However, the government is strengthening legal protections, as we know this group continues to face a particular risk to their job security.
We'll make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave, and mothers returning to work for a six-month period - except in specific circumstances. This starts with the Employment Rights Bill, with protections in force from 2027. From April 2026, the Fair Work Agency will strengthen the enforcement of rights, with women expected to particularly benefit.