Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to DBT’s ministerial meetings, April to June 2025, published 30 September 2025, whether any actions, commitments or policy changes were agreed or initiated following the meeting with Bowmer and Kirkland on 30 April 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the government’s front door for business and its Ministers carry out a wide range of engagement with stakeholders across their portfolios, this includes construction. All meetings and their purpose are recorded and published via quarterly transparency returns.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what issues relating to building regulations were discussed at the meeting between the Minister of State for Industry and Bowmer and Kirkland on 30 April 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the government’s front door for business and its Ministers carry out a wide range of engagement with stakeholders across their portfolios, this includes construction. All meetings and their purpose are recorded and published via quarterly transparency returns.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what was the process for arranging a meeting with Bowmer and Kirkland on 30 April 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the government’s front door for business and its Ministers carry out a wide range of engagement with stakeholders across their portfolios, this includes construction. All meetings and their purpose are recorded and published via quarterly transparency returns.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Ministerial Transparency data, if she will publish a list of all meetings held between Ministers, special advisers or senior officials in her Department and representatives of Bowmer and Kirkland since 2010, including dates, attendees and the stated purpose of each meeting.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Details of meetings with external organisations are regularly published for all Departments on the transparency pages of gov.uk.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria were used to determine the need for ministerial engagement with Bowmer and Kirkland on building regulations on 30 April 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the government’s front door for business and its Ministers carry out a wide range of engagement with stakeholders across their portfolios, this includes construction. All meetings and their purpose are recorded and published via quarterly transparency returns.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether all meetings with Bowmer and Kirkland representatives since 2010 have been published in departmental transparency returns.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Details of meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade have been routinely published on the transparency pages of gov.uk since the department’s establishment in February 2023. Meetings which took place prior to this period were published by its predecessor departments in their own transparency returns. The requested information is therefore not held centrally and could only be located at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the chemical industry.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The chemicals sector underpins almost all other manufacturing in the UK and is fundamental to maximising growth. It also helps stimulates productivity across the economy to drive forward the government’s growth mission. This is reflected by the identification of chemicals as a foundational industry within the Industrial Strategy. Our modern Industrial Strategy will implement targeted policy interventions to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth.
Our commitment to the chemicals sector was demonstrated in our recent intervention to safeguard critical chemical production and jobs at INEOS in Grangemouth.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish a timetable for launching a consultation on financial support for parents of seriously ill children.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has already committed to publish a terms of reference and timeline for its ongoing review of employment rights for unpaid carers this autumn. This will also outline the scope and include a timeline for consulting on employment rights for parents of seriously ill children.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is the potential scope of their proposed consultation on financial support for parents of seriously ill children.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has already committed to publish a terms of reference and timeline for its ongoing review of employment rights for unpaid carers this autumn. This will also outline the scope and include a timeline for consulting on employment rights for parents of seriously ill children.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to support exports of UK-manufactured hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to international markets.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As a frontier sector in the Industrial Strategy, the government has committed targeted support to boost exports of world leading hydrogen technologies into new and established markets, by increasing the visibility of UK capabilities to projects and investors and unlocking greater participation in international supply chains. The Trade Strategy also commits to supporting exports through building on existing and exploring new and deeper clean energy sector agreements.
Officials in my department will continue to showcase UK capabilities through our global network, increasing access to international supply chains. UK Export Finance can offer a range of support for overseas sales, aims to deliver £10bn in clean growth financing by 2029.