Oral Answers to Questions
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(2 days, 21 hours ago)
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Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The measures announced by the Chancellor at the Budget will help families right across Scotland. Scrapping the two-child limit will benefit 95,000 Scottish children. We are putting more money into the pockets of 220,000 people in Scotland through increases to the national minimum and living wage, and the triple lock pension increase will benefit around 1 million Scottish pensioners. We are also cutting energy bills by up to £300 for those most in need.
Graham Leadbitter
While the Labour Westminster Government have been killing jobs, hiking energy bills and exacerbating the cost of living crisis, yesterday the SNP Scottish Government’s budget cut child poverty, boosted funding for the NHS and slashed income tax for hard-working families. A clear majority of workers in Scotland will pay less tax than those in the rest of the UK. Does the Secretary of State support the action in the SNP’s budget, or would he prefer that the lowest earners in Scotland paid more tax, as they do under Labour?
Mr Alexander
What is the reality? The governing philosophy of the Scottish National party is 19th-century nationalism. What is the reality of what we saw yesterday? The 19th budget from John Swinney. The idea that after 18 goes, the SNP will get it right at the 19th is frankly risible. We have the same record of failure with the SNP. If people want a new direction, they will have the chance to vote for it in May.
Liz Saville Roberts
England-only projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail give the Scottish Government the Barnett consequentials that they rightly choose to use on cost of living support such as the Scottish child payment, but Wales is denied any such extra funding. The Secretary of State’s Government have committed to learning lessons from HS2. Why can Wales not have the same means? I assure him that would allow a Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to spend in order to alleviate child poverty.
Mr Alexander
I think 19th-century nationalism is a bad prescription for Scotland, and it is also a bad prescription for Wales. We are proud of the fact that we are increasing public investment not just in rail, as we have heard today from the Transport Secretary, but more broadly across public services in every part of these islands.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State is aware that the Scottish Affairs Committee recently conducted an inquiry into the Thistle safer drug consumption room in Glasgow. I hope that this innovative facility will help to cut drug death numbers in Scotland, but does he agree that the Thistle on its own cannot end the drug crisis? Does he therefore agree that a real-terms cut of £1.3 million to alcohol and drug services was entirely the wrong move in yesterday’s Scottish budget?
Mr Alexander
This is literally and figuratively a deadly serious issue. As we have just heard from those on the SNP Benches, the SNP will be claiming in the coming months that this is as good as it gets for Scotland, but the reality is that its shameful record in Scotland is more than 6,800 drug deaths since it declared a public health emergency. That, let us be clear, is the worst drug-related death rate in Europe. It is a shameful failure by the Scottish Government. Despite all their claims about the budget yesterday, once again it was a missed opportunity to take a better approach. We have provided the resources, but alas we have a Scottish Government who are out of time, out of ideas and failing in terms of public health.
Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)
After 19 years of an SNP Government, does the Secretary of State agree that yesterday’s budget reflects broken public services and decades of economic stagnation? For many families, that means there is just too much month at the end of the money.
Mr Alexander
What is the reality after yesterday’s budget from the Scottish Government? The reality after 19 SNP budgets is that hundreds of thousands of us are stuck on NHS waiting lists in Scotland; over 10,000 children are waking up in temporary accommodation, with no permanent home; and councils are unable to afford even the basics. Members should look at the comments yesterday about what the Scottish Government did to local government. They do not learn, they do not understand and they are out of time.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
One way to lessen the bite of the cost of living for hard-working Scots would be to cut their taxes, letting people keep more of their hard-earned money. Unfortunately, for the nationalists that appears to be anathema. Instead, they are increasing foreign aid spending, which is reserved, to £16 million. They are introducing yet more tax bands and more new taxes, but nothing to incentivise people to find good, well-paying jobs. Conservatives know that you cannot tax a nation into prosperity. Does the Secretary of State agree?
Mr Alexander
Why did the Conservatives deliver a decade of low growth, high inequality and high taxes when they were last in power? Let us take a moment to have a look at their record. There was an 11% rate of inflation under the Conservative Government of which the hon. Member was part, interest rates hit the highest level in 40 years, and mortgages went up by £221 a month for families who were forced to remortgage after the mini-Budget. There are many people who have interesting observations on how to run an economy, but Conservative Front Benchers are not among them.
Alan Gemmell (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
Chris Kane (Stirling and Strathallan) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)
Just last week, we launched the UK Government’s £140 million local growth fund, which will help to deliver economic growth to five Scottish regions. Scotland will also benefit from around £700 million of other local and regional project funding over the next three years. In addition, as we pointed out in relation to the Budget, the UK Government have provided the Scottish Government with the largest block grant in the history of devolution.
Alan Gemmell
I thank the Secretary of State for the announcement of £11 million of local growth funding for Ayrshire. Ayrshire boasts internationally successful businesses in the engineering, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defence and energy sectors, and I have been working with my excellent Ayrshire colleagues and the Ayrshire chambers of commerce to ask businesses what more we can do to grow the economy. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must support Ayrshire’s most successful sectors and ensure this region plays its part in growing Scotland’s economy?
Mr Alexander
Absolutely. I welcome the work of the ambitious Ayrshire consultation, and pay generous tribute to the work that my hon. Friend is doing. When I was Trade Minister, I visited companies including Ecocel and GE Aerospace in Ayrshire, and saw for myself the extraordinary potential for growth-driving sectors such as advanced manufacturing. As part of the more than £200 million the UK Government are investing in Ayrshire, the local growth fund will provide flexible, targeted support to help unlock exactly that potential.
Kenneth Stevenson
After years of increases to the cost of living, my Airdrie and Shotts constituents are understandably impatient for change, and want to see the benefits of economic growth in their communities and in their pockets. Can the Secretary of State provide further detail on how this Government are supporting the growth of local economies in North Lanarkshire, and what role does he see AI, advanced manufacturing and life sciences playing in that growth by helping to develop supply chain resilience locally?
Mr Alexander
Of course, North Lanarkshire has been at the heart of Scottish manufacturing for many decades. Since 2019, it has actually grown faster than the national average in Scotland, due to its highly skilled workforce and ambitious local development plans. I am delighted that large US companies such as CoreWeave have recognised that potential, with CoreWeave having invested £1.5 billion in North Lanarkshire’s growing AI infrastructure. I can assure my hon. Friend that North Lanarkshire has a strong advocate and supporter in the UK Government—we are determined to fulfil that potential.
Liz Twist
Buses are hugely important to our communities and our transport network, so it is vital that Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis Ltd and its supply chain, including Dellner Glass in Consett in my constituency, are supported. It has taken the SNP First Minister over a year to recognise that. Can the Secretary of State set out how he is working with other Departments to ensure that jobs and the company not only survive, but thrive?
Mr Alexander
Of course, I warmly welcome the decision to keep Alexander Dennis’s Falkirk and Larbert sites operational. That will be a huge relief to the talented workforce, not just in those parts of Scotland, but at Dellner Glass and other parts of the supply chain. I recently met the president and managing director of Alexander Dennis, Paul Davies, to discuss its strategic plans and the growth of UK bus manufacturing, and I am also supporting the positive progress made by the Department for Transport’s UK bus manufacturing panel—the first of its kind—which brings industry leaders such as Alexander Dennis together with metro mayors to support manufacturing, boost regional economies and create jobs.
Mike Reader
As chair of the international trade and investment all-party parliamentary group, I am pleased that we are running the power of place campaign to encourage colleagues to highlight incredible small businesses that are exporting out of their constituency. Does the Secretary of State agree that this initiative and others such as Brand Scotland are invaluable for showcasing the power of Scottish products in markets across the world, and will he meet me to explore the ways in which we can improve exports out of Scotland?
Mr Alexander
In my previous role as a Trade Minister, I was proud to promote world-class Scottish products from satellites to whisky. Since 2024, the Government have been working to extend those international trading benefits. For example, the UK-India trade agreement will boost the Scottish economy by an estimated £190 million a year. Both Brand Scotland and the power of place can help small businesses in Scotland and elsewhere to increase their global exports. I pay generous tribute to my hon. Friend and thank the international trade and investment all-party parliamentary group for its important work. I would be pleased to hear more from him about the work we can do together.
Euan Stainbank
In November, I called for urgent intervention to support the Forth valley’s industrial economy. Since then, we have a £150 million deal to protect 500 jobs at Grangemouth’s ethylene plant, £14.5 million in the Budget to unlock hundreds of new jobs quicker at Grangemouth, such as those announced at MiAlgae, and £9.8 million of local growth funding announced at Forth Valley college last week, despite some nationalists moaning that the money should have been sent to St Andrew’s House rather than to Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Stirling. What further steps will the Secretary of State be taking to support the vast economic potential of the Forth valley?
Mr Alexander
Just last week, I was with my hon. Friend in Falkirk announcing £9.8 million-worth of funding for the Forth valley region as part of the new local growth fund. Meanwhile, the UK Government are working hard to secure further investment for the Grangemouth site. Tomorrow, the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Midlothian (Kirsty McNeill), will be in Scotland signing a memorandum of understanding for the Forth green freeport, unlocking £25 million in capital funding to support economic growth in the region. That, frankly, is the difference that having a Labour Government with Scots at the heart can make to economies such as Falkirk’s.
Chris Kane
Does the Secretary of State agree that yesterday’s SNP budget, which metes out another round of civic vandalism to local authority budgets, demonstrates a failure to understand that economic growth is built from the ground up and requires well-funded local authorities delivering schools, infrastructure and clean, safe communities? Does he also agree that Scotland needs a Labour Government at Holyrood, with the same ambition for growth being shown by this UK Labour Government, if it is to unlock its full economic potential?
Mr Alexander
I sense that my hon. Friend has forgotten more about local government financing than John Swinney will ever know. The reality is that the First Minister has been writing budgets for 19 years in the Scottish Government, while at the same time Scottish local government has been pushed to the brink of failure. The independent analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that Scottish local government finance is set to see reductions averaging 2.1% a year in real terms. That would require each Scottish council to increase council tax by around 8% just to hold budgets constant. My question for the First Minister is the same the day after the budget as it was the day before: “John, where’s the money gone?”
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
The Secretary of State will know that the Borderlands inclusive growth deal is an important factor in driving growth in the south of Scotland, and I am looking forward to speaking to the Minister next week about the deal. With such deals, the important thing is getting the money out the door. Over the years, a number of projects originally identified will not now go ahead. Does the Secretary of State agree that new projects should be brought on board, including replacing the bridges at Annan, which have been damaged in storms over recent years?
Mr Alexander
I know from the right hon. Gentleman’s expertise and understanding of his constituency the challenge in relation to Annan and the fact that the bridges were swept away in the floods. I can assure him that my officials are working closely with the Borderlands inclusive growth deal partners to oversee our £65 million investment in projects in that area. We are endeavouring to strike a balance with ensuring that there is effective local leadership, but he makes a powerful case that in recent years we have not seen delivery at the pace that he and we would have wanted. I hope that next week’s meeting is a constructive and useful opportunity to discuss these matters.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
The SNP delivered yet another ambitious budget for Scotland yesterday. It saw almost £1 billion for rates relief, £5 billion for energy and climate change and a 10% uplift for Scotland’s colleges. [Interruption.] The SNP has delivered 10.5% growth since 2007, compared with the UK’s 5.1%. The question is not about what the UK Government will do for Scotland’s economy, but what they will do to stop damaging it. [Interruption.]
Mr Alexander
Through the shouting, I heard the claim that yesterday’s announcement in the Scottish budget had helped Scottish colleges. I had the opportunity to visit Forth Valley college last week; I simply invite the hon. Gentleman to talk to the principal of that college, or indeed the principal of West college, or the principals of any of the further education colleges in Scotland. If he were to suggest for one second that the uplift announced yesterday touches the sides of the 20% cut that we saw previously, that would be an interesting perspective. I tell him to look at the numbers and not to judge this on the rhetoric; he should judge the cuts that his Government have delivered, and then come back and, perhaps, apologise to the young people of Scotland.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
Business rates are crippling, particularly for the hospitality sector in my constituency, including hotels. We in Scotland have not seen the initiatives that have delivered business rates relief in other parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Government may be U-turning on this issue, but would they consider a cut in VAT for hospitality, so that businesses throughout the UK can benefit?
Mr Alexander
My initial glance at the Scottish budget that was announced yesterday suggests that in 2026 there will still be significant uplifts in terms of business rates across Scotland. That is a direct challenge to the claims that we have heard from the Scottish Government in relation to economic growth. I hope that as well as continuing to advocate and make the case to the UK Government, the hon. Lady and her colleagues will take the opportunity to say that Scotland’s high streets are being let down by the Scottish Government as surely as its public services are being let down.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
Putting money back into people’s pockets is vital for economic growth, but today the Government have signed the country up to the highest energy bills for offshore energy for the next 10 years, and to bills that we will be paying for 20 years. Can the Secretary of State explain how this will put more money into people’s pockets for them to spend in high streets, rather than just spending it on higher bills?
Mr Alexander
Let us start with the facts. Our auction today delivers new renewable power, and building and operating that will be cheaper than building new gas. Let me give the hon. Lady the figures. Here are the key facts: the cost of building and operating new gas—£147 per megawatt-hour; the strike price that we agreed today—an average of £91. That means that the price of wind that we have secured is 40% lower than the cost of building and operating new gas power plants. What the hon. Lady has said is simply not true.
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
Tonight, millions of people will tune into “The Traitors”, which was filmed at Ardross castle in my constituency. I really should have put on my Claudia Winkleman eyeliner for this one. The programme has brought millions of pounds and jobs to the highlands. What plans has the Secretary of State to encourage the screen industry to look at locations in Scotland like Ardross castle?
Mr Alexander
I defer to my Cabinet colleague the Health Secretary, given his expertise and knowledge when it comes to “The Traitors”. He made a powerful case on television that he had watched the series, and I then had to catch up subsequently. Let me simply say that Ardross castle—not just the castle itself, but the scenes surrounding it—is a fantastic advertisement for Scotland. Only yesterday I was talking to my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling and Strathallan (Chris Kane) about the huge potential for the film industry in Scotland, and we stand ready, along with our colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to do whatever we can to support screen in Scotland.
Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)
The Secretary of State talks about supporting economic growth in Scotland. Perhaps he should check in with the local authorities across the highlands and islands, which, combined, have received absolutely nothing from the UK Government’s local growth fund. Life is tough enough for our rural communities, and the decision to exclude them from the fund will only make things more difficult. Will the Secretary of State listen to the advice of the leader of Argyll and Bute Council, Councillor Jim Lynch, who desperately wants him to rethink this allocation?
Mr Alexander
I understand that the SNP’s grievance machine does not run on facts, but let me introduce a few facts into the conversation. The highlands and islands are benefiting from more than £300 million in investment, including £80 million to support neighbourhoods through Pride in Place, and, of course, the £25 million for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth green freeport. I can attest to that, because I visited Inverness and announced it.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
The Labour Government are doing absolutely nothing to grow the Scottish economy, given the national insurance increase, the family farm tax, the unemployment rights Bill and the gutting of the oil and gas industry. Growth has been halved, unemployment is up and inflation is up. It is total incompetence. However, the Government are not only incompetent but weak—so weak that Scottish Labour announced that it would not oppose the SNP’s budget before its members even knew what was in it. We know that they are not very good at government, but you would have thought that after all these years they might have worked out how to do opposition, wouldn’t you?
Mr Alexander
Let us see whether this Opposition Front Bencher agrees with the Leader of the Opposition, because, of course, he does not need to take my word for the complete chaos left by the last Government. The present leader of the Conservative party is the one who admitted they had “no plan for growth”, so we are not going to take any lectures from a party that delivered not just the Liz Truss Budget, but an economy high in inequality and low in growth.
Andrew Bowie
What we saw yesterday from the SNP was nothing more than the same old tired, stale Government with tired, stale gimmicks, handouts and an addiction to punishing hard-working Scots with the highest taxes for poorer services. There was nothing for growth, nothing for entrepreneurs and nothing for businesses, but what would we expect from the separatist pressure group cosplaying as a Government that is the SNP? Does the Secretary of State agree that, after 19 years, we need change in Scotland, and that the only party with a plan to cut tax, cut the benefit bill, support business and grow the economy is the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party?
Mr Alexander
Unsurprisingly, no. I half agree with the shadow Secretary of State in that, frankly, Scotland deserves better than a Government who, after 19 years, are claiming to be the change that Scotland needs. The reality is that, when I am on the doorsteps in Lothian East, I ask people inclined to vote SNP a single question, “Can you name a single area of Scottish public life that has got better over the last 19 years?” We have had two decades of talking about independence, and what do we have to show for it? That Budget is not the change that Scotland needs; the change we need is Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour.
Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)
I congratulate the Government on the successful seventh round of the allocation of green energy in contracts for difference, nearly 20% of which are going to Scotland. It is good to see that, even amid their U-turns, a Liberal Democrat system from over a decade ago is still delivering. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the benefits are passed on to the Scottish people through skilled jobs, working to upgrade the grid and, crucially, protecting and defending our offshore infrastructure?
Mr Alexander
I was last in touch with the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary about an hour ago. I talked to him after the Cabinet, and I discussed these issues with him in the Cabinet. It is a very serious question, and it deserves a serious answer. The choice is not whether to build, but what to build, and our answer is clean home-grown power that the United Kingdom controls. Our answer is that we should build new renewables, because they are cheaper to build and to operate than gas.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
I wish the Secretary of State the best for 2026. I am glad he caught “The Traitors”, because I am so sorry to have heard the language used about Scottish Labour MPs by Labour MPs in the press recently. If what he is saying is the best way to improve our lives and our economy, why is Scotland the only part of the UK where child poverty is going down?
Mr Alexander
In part, child poverty will be falling because of the 95,000 kids we will help by abolishing the two-child benefit cap. It is not a coincidence that, in a single afternoon, our Chancellor of the Exchequer took the mantle from Gordon Brown as the politician who lifted the most kids out of poverty across the UK in a single Parliament. Gordon Brown had taken that mantle previously from Denis Healey. It is not a coincidence that Labour Chancellors lift kids out of poverty. That is what we do, and we are proud of it.
Stephen Gethins
I would take the Secretary of State a little bit more seriously if so many Labour MPs had not lost the Whip for backing our vote on tackling the two-child cap. The Scottish child payment, which has been described as “game changing”, has been extended to provide additional funding for babies, meaning that those from deprived communities in Scotland get the best start in life anywhere in the UK in Scotland, so why on earth is Labour abstaining on the Budget? [Interruption.] Just as the Prime Minister turns up, maybe Labour can explain why it abstains and why it does not stand for anything.
Mr Alexander
We are not spending our time indulging in the games of opposition; we are getting on with the serious job of government. That includes delivering a record package of employment rights to help raise pay, because the critical point the hon. Member failed to mention is that three quarters of the kids in poverty in our country today are in working households. That is why the Employment Rights Bill matters, and that is why the 220,000 people being lifted out of poverty as a consequence of increases in the minimum wage matter. We have a comprehensive approach, which is why we have a comprehensive strategy.
Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)
Republic of Korea: Fifth Round of Free Trade Negotiations
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The fifth round of negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea took place in Seoul between 7 and 11 July 2025.
Total trade between the UK and RoK was worth £15.4 billion in 2024. An upgraded FTA is intended to support further growth in this trade and strengthen our broader relationship with RoK.
An upgraded UK-RoK FTA will help secure and future-proof current goods market access. It will update the agreement in key areas where trade policy has progressed in recent years, including digital and services trade. It will also support co-operation in broader parts of the UK-RoK strategic relationship, with commitments in areas such as supply chains and the environment.
During this round, negotiators made good progress in several areas, including but not limited to:
Rules of origin
Constructive discussions were held covering both the main chapter text and product specific rules for a range of sectors including automotives, textiles and apparel, and food and drink.
Digital trade
A new ambitious digital trade chapter is a key part of these negotiations. Sides held further positive discussions during the round on a range of areas including trade digitalisation and business safeguards.
Services
The two sides continue to hold constructive discussions on further support for trade in services. This includes financial services, professional and business services, and rules relating to the development of domestic regulation.
Other Areas
Positive discussions were held across a range of other areas of the FTA, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and trade and sustainable development.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement that aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding our high standards across a range of sectors, including protections for the national health service.
The UK and RoK expect to hold further discussions in the autumn. The Government will continue to work towards delivering outcomes in the FTA that secure economic growth for the UK and will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with RoK as they continue to develop.
[HCWS860]
UK Internal Market Act 2020 Review: Government Response
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The UK Government are today publishing their response to the review of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and public consultation.
The review was launched in January 2025, with its scope expanded beyond what the law requires, to help determine how the operation of the Act can be improved. The review is now complete, well ahead of the statutory deadline of December 2025.
During the review, the UK Government conducted a 10-week public consultation, closing on 3 April. We engaged a wide variety of stakeholders, and more than half of the 85 responses received were from the business community. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to send a written response and to join the stakeholder roundtable discussions that we held during March 2025.
The consultation confirmed that businesses, wherever they are based, need certainty that they can trade freely within the UK, unencumbered by unnecessary disruption resulting from poorly managed regulatory difference between the nations. Businesses also require clarity and certainty to take informed planning decisions and make confident investment decisions for the future. This is highlighted by the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that trade between the four nations of the UK is valued at £129 billion, equivalent to around 6% of UK GDP in 2019, and that it is particularly important to the economies of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The UK Government have been explicit about the need for businesses to have certainty, which is why the review has not considered repeal of the Act. Instead, we pledged to explore improvements in the way the Act’s provisions operate through common frameworks. There was also strong support in our consultation for the four Governments within the UK to work together through the common frameworks. That is why the UK Government’s response describes how to manage the UK internal market in a more transparent, proportionate and pragmatic way, fostering open policy discussions between the UK Government and devolved Governments, with greater clarity and engagement with businesses and other stakeholders.
In common frameworks, discussions between the four Governments can maximise opportunities for alignment where in the nations’ mutual interest, and manage divergence in ways that might promote long-term growth across the UK.
Therefore, the UK Government will:
implement UK Internal Market Act exclusions that have been agreed by all Governments within a common framework;
alongside economic impacts, now consider in particular environmental protection and public health in UK Internal Market Act exclusions, thereby ensuring a balance of factors is considered;
establish a minimum economic impact process for considering smaller exclusions, and implement them where all Governments agree the exclusion has an economic impact of less than £10 million a year;
implement a “reserve” exclusions process where it has not been possible for all four Governments to reach agreement on an exclusion;
work with the devolved Governments to agree processes for how all four Governments engage with businesses and other stakeholders on matters being discussed in common frameworks; and
work with the devolved Governments to agree a process for all four Governments to jointly refer UK internal market matters for advice to the Office for the Internal Market.
The UK Government are confident these measures meet the key requests of many stakeholders, allowing Governments to move forward together in managing the internal market in a way that delivers growth, jobs and opportunities across our country.
[HCWS819]
UK-Turkey Enhanced Free Trade Agreement Negotiations
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The first round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Turkey took place in Ankara between 23 June and 2 July 2025.
During this initial round, talks focused on gathering insights across policy areas and building a shared understanding of each other’s initial positions. Negotiations were constructive, with both countries working towards agreeing ambitious outcomes in key areas, including services and digital trade. The talks also facilitated UK-Turkey co-operation and dialogue in areas of mutual interest that support growth.
Economic growth is our first mission in Government, and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. A stronger trade relationship with Turkey will contribute to jobs and prosperity in the UK. Total trade between the UK and Turkey was worth £27.8 billion in 2024.
Negotiators made significant progress in a number of areas:
Sustainability and collaboration
Negotiators discussed areas of future co-operation relating to innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises and trade and development. The round also covered women’s economic empowerment and labour rights, identifying joint priorities and reaffirming relevant international commitments. Commitments being sought will help foster joint initiatives to, for instance, improve women’s access to global markets and reduce trade barriers for SMEs.
Regulatory environment
Negotiations also covered technical issues relating to the regulatory environments of both parties, including consumer protection and competition. Discussions centred around rules and provisions to promote fair competition and safeguard the interests and rights of consumers engaged in cross-border trade between the UK and Turkey.
Trade in services
Productive discussions were held on key technical issues, including digital, financial and professional business services. Initial discussions aimed to identify areas of alignment and explore commercially meaningful opportunities to build on the existing agreement’s limited services provisions.
Goods
Turkey was the UK’s 16th largest trading partner in 2024 and UK goods exports to Turkey were worth £6.1 billion. The UK’s existing FTA with Turkey replicates the effect of the EU-Turkey customs unions. Industrial products are fully liberalised and agricultural goods are partially liberalised in the current FTA. During the first round of negotiations, both sides worked to establish baselines and respective ambitions, as well as agree a forward process for future rounds.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement that aligns with the UK’s national interests and upholds our high standards across a range of sectors, including as regards protections for the national health service.
The second round of negotiations is expected to take place in autumn 2025. Ministers will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with Turkey as they continue to develop.
[HCWS813]
Oral Answers to Questions
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months ago)
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Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The Government are committed to working with all levels of government to deliver for people across the whole United Kingdom. In the last few weeks, I attended the Interparliamentary Forum to speak with colleagues from across the four legislatures, and I have held productive discussions with devolved Government colleagues on our trade strategy.
Andrew Ranger
This Labour Government understand the importance of partnership in power. One year on, I welcome that this partnership has delivered record funding for Wales to improve our railways, protect coal tips, and boost our economy and our public services. At the general election, we rightly recognised that the Welsh fiscal framework is outdated. Please could the Minister provide an update on the progress being made to address this?
Mr Alexander
I can give my hon. Friend the undertaking he seeks. We are committed to working in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure that the framework is brought up to date and delivers value for money. My officials are supporting His Majesty’s Treasury on how the framework can be updated, and that work is ongoing.
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
Are the Government still committed to one civil service across the United Kingdom? If so, what are they proactively doing to ensure that as part of their career development, UK Government civil servants can work within the devolved Administrations and that those within the devolved Administrations can have roles within the UK Government?
Mr Alexander
I pay tribute to the work of the civil service, not just for the UK Government but across the United Kingdom. Civil servants do tireless work on behalf of the public each and every day and are a critical part of this Government’s determination to deliver significant change for the country and drive forward the missions we have defined. To the right hon. Member’s question, in the early years of devolution there was a lot more interchange between the home civil service here in London and the civil service in offices such as those in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. I know that thought is being given to how we ensure that there is the right expertise in the right parts of the country, and there is an information exchange on how to get this right.
Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Costa Rica
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months, 1 week ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
Today, the Department for Business and Trade is publishing a summary of and response to public engagement on Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession working group.
At the CPTPP ministerial commission meeting in November 2024, CPTPP Ministers, alongside the UK, formally decided to commence an accession process with Costa Rica, establishing an accession working group. As part of this, the Government launched a public engagement period that ran from 29 November 2024 until 24 January 2025, to understand business, civil society and public views and insights on Costa Rica’s potential membership. Twenty-eight responses were received in total, including from businesses, trade bodies, international stakeholders, public sector organisations and individuals.
The document published today summarises the feedback received, and provides a response setting out how the Government intend to approach the accession negotiations with Costa Rica. This feedback is actively informing the Government’s approach to negotiations, including during the first in-person discussions with Costa Rica, which recently took place between 9 and 11 June 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.
CPTPP parties, including the UK, are committed to maintaining the agreement’s high standards, and to further expanding trade ties to drive economic growth. I look forward to keeping the House updated on future CPTPP developments.
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UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
I am pleased to announce that the three pillars under the UK-Taiwan enhanced trade partnership, on investment, digital trade, and energy and net zero, were signed on 30 June. The signing took place between the UK representative at the British Office Taipei, Ruth Bradley-Jones, and the Taipei representative to the UK, Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao. I witnessed this signing alongside Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni during my trip to Taipei where I also co-chaired the 27th UK-Taiwan trade talks.
The ETP pillars are non-legally binding arrangements which will create frameworks to further enhance trade, investment and economic co-operation between the UK and Taiwan. They build on commitments made under the existing UK-Taiwan ETP signed on 14 November 2023. The ETP pillars will support the unofficial relationship between the UK and Taiwan, delivering benefits to both economies. Their content has been informed by engagement with UK businesses, to ensure that they will deliver tangible results over time, supporting the already strong, long-standing trade relationship between the UK and Taiwan which was worth £9.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024.
The No. 1 priority of this Government is economic growth. “The UK’s Trade Strategy”, launched on 26 June, sets out our approach to maximise trade opportunities to support the UK’s growth mission. Utilising flexible trading arrangements and partnerships, like this ETP, demonstrates this Government’s agile and targeted approach to trade policy, which will be key in driving UK growth.
The digital trade, investment and energy and net zero pillars are available on www.gov.uk.
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UK Trade Strategy
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
I am pleased to announce that today, 26 June, the Department of Business and Trade has published the UK’s trade strategy, setting out the Government’s plan to maximise trade opportunities to support growth.
Following the publication of the Government’s industrial strategy on Monday, 23 June, which catalyses 10 years of sustained economic growth in our most important sectors and their supply chains and workforces, the trade strategy positions the UK to address the international environment and to be a key influencer on the world stage using free trade, while also reflecting the needs of British businesses in a changing world.
This Government were elected to deliver our plan for change, and, in doing so, to improve the lives of working people and strengthen our country. This included a clear manifesto commitment to publish a strategy that would set out our response to the changing trading environment. This strategy follows our landmark deal with India, the UK-US economic prosperity deal and resetting our relationship with the EU—all of which have been achieved in the first year of the Government.
Having engaged extensively with business, the UK trade strategy is rooted in data and seeks to reflect not only the changing character of the UK economy, but the challenging geoeconomic and geopolitical context of the coming decade. Our trade strategy acknowledges that the structures that we have relied on to be a successful open economy need to adapt to accommodate the changing global trading environment.
Global trade is entering a new era of turbulence, with geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic challenges and technological disruption reshaping the international order. We are witnessing a rise in protectionism, supply chain vulnerabilities and challenges to the multilateral system.
All of these factors necessitate a fresh approach to trade policy. As a services superpower, the UK stands uniquely poised to thrive amid these challenges.
Our trade strategy sets out our prioritisation of markets that present the biggest opportunity to UK businesses, encouraging the use of our varied range of trade policy tools. This will be supported by the new Ricardo fund to help UK regulators remove regulatory barriers for businesses trading abroad.
The trade strategy strengthens our business support, with a particular focus on simplifying and digitalising border processes and introducing measures to protect businesses against economic pressure by strengthening our approach to trade defence: making our trade remedies system more accessible, assertive and agile; reviewing our trade defence instruments; and ensuring businesses are supported by establishing an economic security advisory service.
Finally, the trade strategy outlines how it goes hand-in-hand with our wider Government objectives such as our support to developing countries and our environmental commitments.
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Switzerland Free Trade Agreement Negotiations: Round 7
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The seventh round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Switzerland took place in London between 5 and 13 June 2025.
Economic growth is our first mission in government and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. An enhanced trade agreement with Switzerland will support British businesses, back British jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets.
Switzerland is the UK’s 10th biggest trading partner and the UK-Swiss trade relationship was worth more than £45 billion in 2024. Services exports account for more than £18 billion of this, making Switzerland the UK’s sixth largest services export partner. This included over £700 million from Scotland and £1 billion from the north-west in 2022. The trading relationship supported 130,000 services jobs across the UK in 2020.
An enhanced FTA with Switzerland aims to deliver long-term certainty for UK services firms, by locking in access to the Swiss market, guaranteeing the free flow of data and cementing business travel arrangements.
This round saw momentum in a number of areas:
Services and investment
Constructive discussions were held across services, including with regard to market access.
Negotiators also made good progress and agreed several key commitments in cross-border trade in services and domestic regulation. Progress was also made on financial services, with both sides confirming our shared ambition in this area.
On mobility, talks focused on long-term certainty for UK businesspersons travelling to and delivering services in Switzerland.
Innovation
Both sides discussed how the FTA can support trade in innovative goods and services. This could include mechanisms to bring together businesses, academia and Government to discuss ways to address any trade barriers and opportunities that arise from innovation in the future. This is an important request from businesses in the UK and Switzerland.
Intellectual property
During this round, the UK and Switzerland focused on geographical indications, with the aim of retaining the GIs already protected by the UK and Switzerland as well as establishing a streamlined process for the protection of new GIs. Negotiations will continue with the aim of agreeing a comprehensive framework for the protection of intellectual property.
Goods
Progress was made on goods market access as we continue the process of modernising the existing agreement. The 99% of UK goods exports to Switzerland by value are already tariff free. We reached provisional agreement on rules of origin which will make it easier for UK businesses to use imported materials in their exports to Switzerland through a new cumulation article and provide continuity by preserving the existing product specific rules.
We also reached provisional agreement during the round on policy areas including dispute settlement, development, consumer protection, animal welfare and anti-corruption.
Next steps
Round 8 of negotiations is set to take place in Switzerland in autumn 2025.
The Government are focused on securing outcomes in an enhanced FTA that boost economic growth for the UK and Ministers will continue to update Parliament on the progress of negotiations.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement which aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding our high standards across a range of sectors, alongside protections for the national health service.
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UK-Singapore Investment Treaty
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(7 months ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The Government will shortly end negotiations with Singapore on the UK-Singapore bilateral investment treaty.
Negotiations were launched in March 2023 to strengthen the UK-Singapore investment relationship, through agreeing modern provisions to guarantee high standards of fair treatment for investors, in line with a commitment in the 2020 UK-Singapore free trade agreement. As British investors in Singapore now benefit from the high-standard investment protections gained through our membership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership (having formally joined in December 2024), we are ending negotiations on the UK-Singapore BIT. We will instead focus on efforts to further facilitate and promote investment and to boost our economic growth, as well as to build on the stock of UK investment in Singapore, and Singapore’s stock of investment in the UK, which stand at £15.7 billion and £19.3 billion respectively.
The strong co-operative relationship between the UK and Singapore extends beyond investment. On digital trade, seven memoranda of understanding signed alongside the UK-Singapore digital economy agreement facilitate co-operation in several key areas, including fintech and lawtech services. Trade digitalisation pilots conducted under the DEA demonstrated significant business benefits to trade in goods, including a 40% reduction in trade processing time, an 89% reduction in paperwork, and a 67% improvement in staff productivity. We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration on digital innovation.
To further strengthen our trading relationship, we will continue to work closely with Singapore, as part of CPTPP, to modernise trade rules and promote deeper co-operation with other economies, including through accessions and the general review.
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