Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has conducted an impact assessment on the potential impact of US ethanol imports on the production of bioethanol within the UK.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump.
This is a unique deal that ensures UK industries are protected; talks with the US are ongoing.
Both the Secretary of State and senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade have been meeting representatives of the domestic bioethanol industry to discuss their concerns.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has conducted an impact assessment of the removal of tariffs from US imports of ethanol to the UK.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump.
This is a unique deal that ensures UK industries are protected; talks with the US are ongoing.
Both the Secretary of State and senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade have been meeting representatives of the domestic bioethanol industry to discuss their concerns.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 22 of the Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP 1210, what steps he has taken to (a) reform and (b) expand the Office for Investment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As announced by the Prime Minister in October 2024, the enhanced Office for Investment (OfI) streamlines and simplifies our support for the most strategically important investors. The new OfI has more commercial expertise to originate, negotiate and land investment across all regions and nations of the UK. The new OfI is a joint No.10, HMT and DBT unit, spearheaded by the Minister for Investment, ensuring investment is prioritised at the top of government.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the trade agreement with the EU of 19 May 2025, what (a) tariffs and (b) rules will apply to steel exports to the EU.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The EU applies a safeguard measure on imports of 26 categories of steel in the form of tariff-rate quotas that allow certain volumes of imports per category to enter duty-free. A 25% duty is charged on volumes that exceed quotas.
Following a recent amendment by the EU, the UK’s duty-free access to category 17 (steel sections) was restricted to below traditional volumes.
As part of the new agreement, the EU committed to correcting this in line with traditional trade flows, which will allow UK industry to double the amount of tariff-free steel sections they can export to the EU.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2025 to Question 50961 on Trade Agreements: USA, whether he requested that the United States reduce the applied tariff of 41% for the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the US on 8 May, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal.
The US has confirmed, as part of the deal, that it will consider UK requests to reduce the applied tariff for a UK territory such as the Falkland Islands on a preferential basis. Talks between the UK and the US are ongoing.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help tackle the sale of illegal electric conversion kits for bicycles.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under UK product safety laws, businesses must ensure any electric conversion kits they place on the UK market are safe.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to tackle the supply of unsafe or non-compliant consumer products, including electric bike conversion kits, and to remove them from the market. The enforcement of converted bicycles that travel above legal speed limits is a matter for the police.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the 41% tariffs imposed by the United States on the Falkland Islands were discussed as part of the negotiations for the US-UK trade deal announced on 8 May 2025.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump. We are continuing talks on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal. In this agreement, as in all international agreements, the UK will consider the interests of those UK territories for whose international relations it is responsible.
In addition, the US has confirmed, as part of the deal, that it will consider UK requests to reduce the applied tariff for a UK territory such as the Falkland Islands on a preferential basis
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the feasibility of introducing a Guest Beer Agreement scheme in England and Wales.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses, including pubs and independent breweries, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.
The government wishes to see small brewers retain and expand their access to UK pubs, maximising drinkers’ choice and supporting local economies. The government is currently conducting a wide-ranging review of the beer market to assess whether there are any market barriers that should be addressed, we will report back with findings this summer.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by their Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
193 mobile phones and 29 laptops were reported lost in financial year 2024/25 including up to 14th April 2025. There were no other electronic devices reported lost.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the Post Office's ability to adhere to its Access Criteria.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria. My Department has assessed the Post Office network meets Government-set access criteria at a national level. The Post Office publishes its annual network report which sets out their performance publicly each year and it can be found here.