Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK's free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on Welsh agriculture.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government assessed the environmental impacts of the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA within the independently scrutinised impact assessments which were published in December 2021 and February 2022 respectively when the FTAs were signed. These covered both the economic and environmental impacts.
In addition, the independent Trade Agriculture Commission gave both the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA a clean bill of health, concluding both FTAs are consistent with the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to review the UK's free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government continually assesses the implementation of free trade agreements to maximise their benefit and to support economic growth. The Department is working to ensure the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreements continue to work well for business.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether future trade deals will include impact assessments for (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) the regions of England.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
For new free trade agreements (FTAs), the Government publishes impact assessments to support the parliamentary scrutiny process of FTAs. The analysis will include an assessment on the UK's regions and nations as well as UK growth and trade.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what funding is available from his Department to support (a) Welsh companies making redundancies, (b) Welsh employees at risk of redundancy and (c) Welsh companies in retaining employees.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government aims to respond to any job losses from company distress cases swiftly and coherently, to reduce the local impact and support people back to work.
Through the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), part of the Insolvency Service, employers can access funding for redundancies, if required. For employers who are considering making 20 or more employees redundant at any one site, the RPS also notify the appropriate government departments and agencies, in confidence. This includes Jobcentre Plus and other service providers in their local area who will reach out with offers of assistance during the notification/consultation period.
The Department for Work and Pensions locally deploy the Rapid Response Service to provide support to people affected by redundancy, regardless of whether they are receiving benefits. The aim is to help people into new employment as quickly as possible. The service supports people during their notice period and up to 13 weeks after they leave work.
Additionally, the Welsh Government directly delivers services supporting redundant workers. ReAct Plus is a grant programme, offering tailored support to those trying to re-enter the labour market by removing barriers and providing grant support for vocational training, travel costs and care (including childcare) related to training.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to help support British (a) defence and (b) technology companies to participate in procurement processes arising from proposed increased military production in EU countries.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Working with industry, the government will continue focusing on markets offering the best export opportunities, and with whom stronger defence, digital and technology relationships support delivery of UK defence objectives, including across Europe. Domestically, the Cabinet Office's recent National Procurement Policy Statement sets out how public procurement can be used to kickstart economic growth, including by encouraging innovation and new technologies in line with the Industrial Strategy.
As part of a defence innovation drive, the government will also look to enhance investment in defence start-ups and scale-up technology and capability, including through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund.
More broadly, the government recognises the defence, digital and technology sector's importance to our economic growth mission which is why they were identified as two of the eight growth-driving sectors in our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the farming sector on a trade deal with the United States.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK-US relationship is already very strong, with trade of around £300 billion, and shared investment of over £1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The Prime Minister and President Trump met on 27 February and agreed to deepen this relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has also been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries, and will continue to make every effort to support British business.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions has the Groceries Code Adjudicator imposed the maximum fine on a retailer for non-compliance since 2013.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since 2013 the Groceries Code Adjudicator has not imposed a fine on a retailer for non-compliance.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has a number of levers to deal with non-compliance and resolve disputes. Following an investigation into a regulated retailer which has breached the Code, the Adjudicator can issue recommendations against a retailer, require retailers to publish details of a breach or fine retailers up to 1% of their annual turnover.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff work for the Groceries Code Adjudicator; and whether any of those staff are seconded from other Departments.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is funded by a levy on the fourteen regulated retailers covered by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. It does not employ its own staff but may make arrangements for staff to be seconded from any other public authority. There are currently five employees from the Department for Business and Trade and four employees from other Departments that are seconded to the GCA.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what regulatory mechanisms are in place to help consumers verify the legitimacy of communications from (a) banks, (b) energy providers and (c) telecommunications companies to help prevent scams.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Although the Department of Business and Trade does not directly regulate these sectors, Companies House and the Insolvency Service supply data on UK registered companies to assist law enforcement targeting online fraud and other economic crimes. Furthermore, through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we raise awareness about how to spot, avoid and report scams.
Across Government, the Home Office works with Ofcom to prevent phone number ‘spoofing’, which is the practice of scammers impersonating UK phone numbers to trick people into thinking they are speaking to legitimate businesses.