Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what fiscal steps his Department is considering to help prevent the export of high-quality aluminium scrap and support its retention within UK and European recycling markets to reduce costs for domestic manufacturers.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of high quality aluminium scrap to UK manufacturing, circularity and supply chain resilience. Through the Metals Circularity Group, the Department is working with industry, academia, regulators and other government departments, including HM Treasury and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to gather evidence on the challenges facing UK scrap markets. This includes topics such as levels of scrap exports, domestic processing capacity, and barriers to investment and competitiveness. The Group's work will inform the development of policy recommendations to Ministers.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what funding is targeted at smaller Tier 2/3 automotive suppliers and whether his Department holds data on take up of available funding and support by these suppliers.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through DRIVE35, the Government is providing £4 billion of capital and research and development funding to 2035 to support the transition to zero-emission vehicle manufacturing and its supply chain. Funding is available to businesses of all sizes, including smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers, across DRIVE35’s Innovation, Scale-Up and Transformation pillars.
As part of DRIVE35, the £100 million Supplier Readiness and Transformation (SRT) programme provides targeted capital support to automotive suppliers in the West Midlands and North East, helping businesses transition to EV manufacturing and strengthen their competitiveness.
The Department and its delivery partners monitor the delivery and the reach of DRIVE35 support. However, data is not routinely held or reported comprehensively by automotive supply-chain tier, and many businesses operate across different tiers or supply multiple sectors.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential risks associated with the Tier 2/3 automotive supply chain.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department routinely monitors the health and resilience of the UK automotive supply chain, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers, working closely with industry stakeholders, including through the Automotive Council. The Government recognises the importance of strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the automotive supply chain as the sector transitions to zero-emission vehicles. Our modern Industrial Strategy launched DRIVE35, the largest government investment in the automotive industry of the post-war era, providing £4 billion of support to 2035 for the transition to zero-emission vehicle manufacturing, including across the automotive supply chain.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure audit requirements are accessible and affordable for small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has announced plans to modernise and simplify the corporate reporting framework and expects to publish its Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation shortly. The consultation will consider financial, non-financial, remuneration and corporate governance reporting, as well as proposals to reduce burdens on business and to simplify the preparation and audit of accounts and reports, including for quoted companies. The consultation will also consider the appropriateness of the UK’s framework for reporting and auditing by small and medium-sized companies.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the burden of annual reporting for small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has announced plans to modernise and simplify the corporate reporting framework and expects to publish its Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation shortly. The consultation will consider financial, non-financial, remuneration and corporate governance reporting, as well as proposals to reduce burdens on business and to simplify the preparation and audit of accounts and reports, including for quoted companies. The consultation will also consider the appropriateness of the UK’s framework for reporting and auditing by small and medium-sized companies.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the British Business Bank supports stocks traded on AIM and Aquis.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Business Bank’s mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK.
Through its equity and debt programmes, the Bank supports privately held businesses in the earlier stages of their growth journey, helping to strengthen the pipeline of companies that reach sufficient scale to access public markets including AIM and Aquis.
Once businesses are traded on a public market, they can access liquidity from existing and new investors by issuing new equity or debt securities.