Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34611 on Microsoft: Prices, what assessment he has made of the implications for consumer.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly, and there is a strong framework of consumer rights in the UK that underpin this. At the same time, businesses are generally free to set the price of their products as they wish. The UK competition regime encourages open and competitive markets which produces lower prices for consumers. The Government has strengthened both competition and consumer protection regimes in the recent Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 potential implications for his policies of Microsoft's increase in prices for Office 365.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not conducted a formal assessment on Microsoft's price increase for Office 365.
Microsoft cites the addition of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities as the main reason for higher prices. Digital technologies, including AI, are an important way to improve business efficiency. We are exploring ways to boost uptake through the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, Technology Adoption Review, and AI Opportunities Action Plan. We also provide a range of other support for small businesses, from the Business Support Service to local Growth Hubs.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the domestic critical minerals industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. Government will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. The Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future.
Government is considering policy options to secure our critical mineral supply chains and will be engaging closely with industry to realise our potential for producing critical minerals domestically. I am pleased to see the National Wealth Fund’s recognition of our domestic critical minerals industry’s growth potential, as demonstrated by their recent £28.6m equity investment into the Cornish Metals South Crofty tin mine.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the lithium (a) extraction and (b) processing industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DBT regularly engages with the lithium extraction and processing industry. I will visit Cornwall this Spring to see first-hand the progress that the UK’s leading extractive and processing projects have made. Government has supported growing the lithium value chain through the National Wealth Fund’s £24m investment in Cornish Lithium.
Domestic production of lithium will be increasingly important as demand for resilient and responsible sources of critical minerals grows. Government will work closely with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This will secure our supply chains for the long term and refine our approach to maximising domestic production.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 28100 on Investment, when the Minister for Investment (a) last visited and (b) will next visit the regions.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Minister for Investment has made several regional visits since her appointment in October, including to Edinburgh, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, Darlington and Sunderland. The Minister for Investment will continue to make several regional visits in the coming months, to continue to promote investment and identify opportunities across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support regional investment funds; and whether the Minister for Investment has met with (a) Northern Gritstone, (b) Midlands Mindforge and (c) other regional investment funds.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade supports regional investment funds by fostering growth, expanding their investor networks, and identifying opportunities for international collaboration. The Minister for Investment will look to meet North Gritstone, Midlands Mindforge and others when next in the regions.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Institution of Civil Engineers' report entitled ICE policy position statement: How can the UK’s infrastructure system be made more climate resilient?, published in March 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using digital twins to improve understanding of risks to infrastructure assets.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Digital Twin Programme aims to determine how digital twins can support improvements in all aspects of the operation and performance of individual infrastructure assets, as well as networks and systems. This includes climate resilience in relation to both specific events, as well as the longer term impacts of changing weather patterns. Information about the NDTP can be found at National Digital Twin Programme NDTP - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Official Development Assistance expenditure managed by the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was redistributed following the machinery of Government changes in February 2023.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget was allocated to my department when it was created in February 2023 through the machinery of Government changes.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data his Department holds on the potential impact of non-EU bicycle imports on (a) cycle distributors in the North East and (b) the bicycle manufacturing sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold data on the potential impact of non-EU bicycle imports on cycle distributors in the North East or the bicycle manufacturing sector.
At the Budget, the Government announced we would be continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England, and the Help to Grow: Management programme. We also announced we are extending Made Smarter Innovation with up to £37m funding. Funding for the Made Smarter Adoption programme will double to £16 million in 2025-26, supporting more small manufacturing businesses to adopt advanced digital technologies and enabling the programme to be expanded to all nine English regions.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 support (a) innovation and (b) growth in the bicycle manufacturing industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Small businesses and manufacturers are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the Government’s growth mission.
At the Budget, the Government announced we would be continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England, and the Help to Grow: Management programme. We also announced we are extending Made Smarter Innovation with up to £37m funding. Funding for the Made Smarter Adoption programme will double to £16 million in 2025-26, supporting more small manufacturing businesses to adopt advanced digital technologies and enabling the programme to be expanded to all nine English regions.