Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on local authorities’ ability to refuse harmful alcohol licenses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any potential reforms on the ability of licensing authorities to refuse licences where they have concerns within the scope of the current licensing regime. The Government, however, intends there to be no reduction in the existing safeguards relating to public safety, prevention of crime and disorder, public nuisance and protection of children.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on rapid round-the-clock alcohol delivery.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Delivery of alcohol to consumers, for example as a result of online purchasing, is part of the off-trade, i.e. sales from supermarkets, off-licences and online retailers. The focus of the government’s reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on levels of alcohol-related (a) deaths and (b) harm.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system. No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on alcohol-related deaths or harm. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) community safety and (b) levels of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) on trade and (b) off trade sales.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to investigate the conduct of Kroll Advisory Ltd in its role as administrator of Prosperous Life; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that affected consumers are protected.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All insolvency practitioners (IPs), including those at Kroll Advisory Ltd, are authorised and regulated by recognised professional bodies, which operate under the Secretary of State’s oversight. Matters of concern about IP conduct are the responsibility of those bodies, in line with their published rules and procedures.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31822 on Public Holidays, if he will make an estimate of the (a) cost of introducing an additional annual bank holiday on a permanent basis and (b) financial impact on each sector of the economy.
Answered by Justin Madders
Under the Better Regulation Framework, the Department would be expected to produce an Impact Assessment estimating the costs of an additional, permanent bank holiday if the Government proposed one. However, since the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and widely accepted, the Government has no such plans.
The best available indication at present is from the impact assessment undertaken by the previous Government in 2022, estimating the cost of the one-off Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an additional bank holiday for the Monday after Remembrance Sunday.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government recognises the sacrifices made by so many veterans and the profound debt of gratitude owed to those who have served our country.
We regularly receive requests for additional bank and public holidays to mark a variety of occasions. While an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy remains considerable. The latest analysis estimates the cost to the UK economy for a one-off bank holiday to be around £2 billion.
The current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and widely accepted. The Government has no plans to change it.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will establish an additional bank holiday to honour veterans on the Monday after Remembrance Sunday.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government recognises the sacrifices made by so many veterans and the huge debt of gratitude owed to those who have served their country.
The current pattern of UK bank holidays is well established and accepted. Whilst an additional bank holiday may benefit some sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday remains considerable. The latest analysis estimates the cost to the UK economy for a one-off bank holiday to be around £2bn.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the value of rail exports in (a) 2023, (b) 2024, (c) 2025 and (d) 2026.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Research published by Oxford Economics in 2021 estimated that the rail industry contributed £43 billion Gross Value Added to the UK economy in 2019, supporting 710,000 jobs.
The ONS data shows that in 2022 the UK exported £433 million rail transport services and £293 million worth of railway equipment in this year.
For the 12 months to November 2023, ONS goods data shows that the UK exported £453 million worth of railway equipment. Services data is not available for this time period.
We do not have estimates for the value of UK rail exports in 2024 or in future years. However, this Government will continue to help UK companies to export from the rail sector and our Export Strategy sets out the support we provide through our network of international trade advisers, sector specialists, UK Export Finance, and the export support service.