Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people who earn the national living wage in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) estimate that 2.9% of full-time employee jobs and 12.0% of part-time employee jobs were covered by the relevant National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rate in 2023. The LPC will publish updated analysis in early 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate has been made of the average annual salary of people in receipt of the National Living Wage in April 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The current National Living Wage (NLW) is set at £11.44 per hour. This means for a full-time worker on the NLW working 35 hours each week, their gross annual earnings are £20,821. This will increase to £22,222 after the new NLW rate of £12.21 is applied from 1st April 2025.
Each worker's take home salary will vary as this will depend on a range of factors, including total hours worked, taxes and other lawful deductions, and additional benefits.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what changes have been made to the (a) numbers and (b) job types of staff employed in his Department's trade and investment hub in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
(a) The number of active employees attached to the Trade and Investment Hub in Northern Ireland during the previous 12 months is shown on Table 1. This is representative of active employees who are based in Norther Ireland and work for the Trade and Investment Hub, Northern Ireland. There are also employees in other teams and locations that indirectly support Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland.
DBT defines “staff employed” as Civil Servants on payroll with an active payroll assignment.
(b) All active employee records attached to the Trade and Investment Hub in Northern Ireland recorded the same job type, International Trade. This was not amended throughout the reporting period 1st December 2023 – 1st November 2024.
Table 1
Report Date | Count of Active Employees |
01/12/2023 | 12 |
01/01/2024 | 12 |
01/02/2024 | 10 |
01/03/2024 | 9 |
01/04/2024 | 9 |
01/05/2024 | 10 |
01/06/2024 | 9 |
01/07/2024 | 10 |
01/08/2024 | 10 |
01/09/2024 | 9 |
01/10/2024 | 10 |
01/11/2024 | 10 |
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of how many (a) Crown Post Offices and (b) sub Post Offices there will be in 2029.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No decisions to close any or all of the remaining Directly Managed Branches have been taken.
The Post Office will continue to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirement set by Government. Longer term, Government has set out our plan to publish a Green Paper to consult with the public on the long-term future of the Post Office. This Green Paper will help inform what customers, communities and postmasters would like to see from a modern Post Office network.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of how many people will be paid the increased national living wage in April 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We estimate that over 3 million workers will receive a pay rise due to the increase in the National Living Wage in April 2025. The number of workers paid at the National Living Wage in April 2025 is expected to be lower as some of these workers will receive a further indirect pay rise as employers decide to pay above the minimum.
We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) plans for investment in and (b) other plans for UK (i) nations and (ii) regions have been agreed as a result of the international investment summit on 14 October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the International Investment Summit we announced a total of £63 billion of investment with nearly 38,000 jobs to be created across the UK. DBT is committed to building on the success of the summit and continuing to attract and retain investment across the whole of the UK. We also announced we will be expanding the Office for Investment to become the UK's investment promotion function. The Office for Investment will work across government and UK nations and regions to drive inward investment and deliver on our collective mission to drive growth across the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership benefits all parts of the UK equally.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The United Kingdom as a whole will accede to the CPTPP, and every nation and region of the UK is expected to benefit from the agreement, which is expected to increase GDP by £2 billion a year in the long run as published in the Department’s Impact Assessment (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cptpp-impact-assessment). Northern Ireland’s gross value added (GVA) is estimated to increase by around £70 million from UK accession to the CPTPP (relative to 2019 values).
The Department has started hosting a series of events leading up to entry into force to ensure businesses are aware of, and know how to take advantage of, the opportunities CPTPP will present. This activity is spread across the UK, including events across the Nations and Regions of the UK, and will increase in the run-up to and beyond entry into force of CPTPP.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to UK Export Finance's Business Plan 2024-29, published on 30 April 2024, what steps she is taking to help companies in Northern Ireland Companies to export globally.
Answered by Greg Hands
UK Export Finance (UKEF) offers support to businesses across the whole of Northern Ireland. It has a network of Export Finance Managers who are valuable contacts for businesses with export potential, including those based in Northern Ireland. Contact details are available at: Find an Export Finance Manager - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
UKEF has a proud history of supporting business in Northern Ireland. For instance, in February 2024, UKEF announced it was guaranteeing a $100 million dollar facility to EOS IT Holdings, based in Country Down.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 1306 on Energy: Prices, if she will make an (a) estimate of when the Supercharger proposals will be fully implemented and (b) an assessment of the potential impact of their full implementation on the international competitiveness of UK electricity costs.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government committed to implementing the Supercharger measures between April 2024 and April 2025. The 4 statutory instruments that enact the Supercharger came into force on 1 April and the first measure has been implemented. The second measure will be implemented from 1 October and the final measure will be implemented from April 2025.
Taken together, the government estimates that Government support on electricity prices for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) in the form of the British Industry Supercharger could be worth (on average) around £24-£31 Per MegaWatt Hour (MWh) for eligible businesses, closing the competitive gap with their international competitors.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what advertising campaigns directed at local businesses have been undertaken by her Department's trade hub in Northern Ireland since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Greg Hands
Engaging with businesses in Northern Ireland (NI) is a key priority for the Department for Business and Trade. The “Made in the UK, Sold to the World” campaign continues to raise awareness of export benefits and the free UK government support available to help businesses grow internationally.
This year, the department’s Northern Ireland team has promoted specific opportunities to NI businesses through the Australia and New Zealand Roadshow and the Food and Drink Export Council’s Peer-to-Peer event in Cookstown. Businesses are encouraged to use the department’s services like the UK Export Academy and provide peer support via our Export Champion programme.