Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the professional services sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy, and provide a platform for growth.
The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Professional and Business Services Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector. In addition, Professional and Business Services is one of the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors. We will work with businesses to co-create a Professional and Business Services Sector Plan which will identify key barriers to growth and describe how government and industry intend to achieve long-term growth for the sector.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the retail sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government must take difficult choices. This was a budget to fix the foundations of the economy, and these tough decisions are intended to provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain's high streets. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Retail Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills and sustainability. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the hospitality sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. Following the budget I have met extensively with hospitality sector stakeholders including a meeting of the Hospitality Sector Council where we discussed the budget
The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. All of these measures have been consistently demanded by the sector.
This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the consumer goods sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy and provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets supporting the consumer goods sales in particular. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
The Small Business Strategy Command Paper, which we will publish next year, will set out our plan to boost scale-ups, grow the cooperative economy, create thriving high streets, make it easier to access finance, help break into overseas and domestic markets, build business capabilities, and provide a strong business environment.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the infrastructure sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Autumn Budget outlined The Government’s commitment to support the infrastructure sector to rebuild Britain. It included plans to increase capital investment by over £100 billion in the next five years. This investment spans the infrastructure sector, including rebuilding schools and hospital, improving roads and public transport, building homes, and launching Great British Energy. Strengthening our infrastructure will drive substantial increases to our national income, positively impacting GDP.
The Government will also introduce reforms to enable greater delivery of infrastructure projects. This includes publishing a 10-year infrastructure strategy, establishing the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and reforming the planning system.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are strengthening protections against workplace sexual harassment. The Employment
Rights Bill will amend the Equality Act 2010 to:
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has a gender action plan.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to closing the gender pay gap.
The Department for Business and Trade has recently finalised a Gender Pay Gap Action Plan in response to the 2024 gender pay gap findings which will be published as part of the Department’s annual report in December 2024. The Gender Pay Gap Action Plan aligns with the strategic objectives set out in the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Framework (2024-28) which was introduced in May 2024.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to stop third party discrimination.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT is committed to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive work environment for its employees and does not tolerate any form of unacceptable behaviour or abuse, by any party, towards an employee.
DBT’s HR policies provide guidance on how to report third party harassment and the actions managers can take to respond when it occurs.
Mandatory training is provided for all employees on bullying, harassment and discrimination.