Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered allowing the British Business Bank to a) accept deposits and b) run a pilot scheme allowing it to lend directly to i) businesses and ii) community housing groups in areas where community development finance institutions are less prevalent.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank has no plans to accept deposits and is not authorised to do so. This would require an application to the Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates deposit-taking institutions.
Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play a vital role in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. While it is the case that CDFIs are less prevalent in some areas, they have the potential to serve every part of the UK. The government and British Business Bank are collaborating with Responsible Finance and others on the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce, an initiative to grow the CDFI sector substantially over the next 5-10 years.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what grant funding is available to help support the development of commercial and business skills in small and medium-sized enterprise.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not provide centrally administered grant funding, specifically for the development of commercial and business skills for SMEs.
Help to Grow: Management (HTG:M) is a UK-wide leadership and management programme for SME leaders. The programme is 90% government‑subsidised, with a participant contribution of £750.
Responsibility for business skills funding is devolved to local government, with commercial and business skills courses delivered through Growth Hubs funded directly through Mayoral Combined Authorities and local councils.
Businesses are encouraged to use the business.gov.uk website to identify relevant local support, including skills and business development funding in their area.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the proportion of UK businesses with dedicated budgets for training.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The DBT Longitudinal Small Business Survey[1] reports that 45 percent of SME employers offer training to their employees. The Department does not hold specific information on dedicated budgets for training.
[1] Small Business Survey 2024: businesses with employees - GOV.UK
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade offer a variety of financial support to employees. This includes season ticket loans, bicycle advances, rental deposits, house purchase advances (for those relocating and meeting departmental eligibility criteria) and salary advances. In addition, employees can access support for debt management or financial wellbeing through the Employee Assistance Programme.
There are no plans to introduce payroll deductions for Credit Union purposes. The Department for Business and Trade is not able to advise on behalf of other agencies.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93633, if he will publish that assessment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To protect negotiation-sensitive information the Department for Business and Trade will not be publishing a full assessment of the potential economic impact of mutual recognition agreements on conformity assessment between the UK and EU. This Government remains committed to tackling barriers to trade with the EU, addressing areas of mutual benefit to both the UK and EU.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what further steps he will take to help small businesses take advantage of the UK's trade deals.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our department is helping businesses take advantage of trade deals through engagement, guidance, and practical support. Events to promote understanding of FTAs have been held in all parts of the UK this year, including during International Trade Week.
Guides to ensure business have clear advice on taking advantage of FTAs have been published on recent FTAs, and are being prepared for the UK-India FTA. SMEs can also access support on FTAs through the new Business Growth Service.
The Government’s Plan for Small Businesses strengthens the business environment, improves finance access, creates growth opportunities, and boosts SME competitiveness across the UK.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of negotiating improved business travel mobility arrangements with the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1st December to question 93634 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament).
Improved business travel mobility arrangements with the EU would benefit individuals and businesses in both the UK and EU, likely increasing trade between us and the EU and increasing our GDP over time. The UK government is committed to supporting UK businesses to trade more easily with our biggest trading partner, the EU.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of negotiating improved business travel mobility arrangements with the European Union.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Improved business travel mobility arrangements with the EU would benefit individuals and businesses in both the UK and EU, likely increasing trade between us and the EU and increasing our GDP over time. The UK government is committed to supporting UK businesses to trade more easily with our biggest trading partner, the EU.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of UK and EU conformity assessment alignment on the economy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are aware that UK and EU stakeholders have highlighted that conformity assessment barriers negatively impact their ability to trade since the UK left the EU. Ahead of the UK-EU summit in May 2025 we explored a number of proposals with our EU partners on manufactured goods. To inform these discussions the government assessed the potential economic impact of a range of measures, including a mutual recognition agreement on conformity assessment, which indicated that such an agreement would be mutually beneficial for both the UK and EU. What was announced at the UK-EU summit reflects the outcome of the discussions.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many complaints the British Business Bank received about a) the cost of loans to SMEs, b) debt recovery behaviour by people offering to lend to SMEs and c) fees charged by lenders when lending to SMEs in each of the last three years for which data is available.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Where the British Business Bank receives complaints about lenders' actions on debt recovery, cost of lending and fees charged by lenders, these are referred to the relevant lender. While all complaints are logged, the current system does not include a specific category for debt-recovery-related issues. No fees were charged under the COVID-19 loan schemes, and there are no fees for Start Up Loans other than interest payments.