Harriett Baldwin

To qualify for statutory Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), both parents (mother/primary adopter and their partner/secondary adopter) must meet an economic activity test relating to employment and earnings and an individual test relating to duration of service as well as having main caring responsibility for the child.

In line with legislation, to be eligible for SPL Cabinet Office policy requires each parent to have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with their respective employer by the end of the 15th week, before the child’s due date or adoption matching date. They must also still be working for the same respective employer when they intend to take the leave.

To be eligible for SPL and ShPP at the statutory rate, an employee must have been employed within the Civil Service continuously during the 26 week period before the end of the 15th week before the child’s due date or adoption matching date.

If an employee has been employed in the Civil Service for this duration, although not in the Cabinet Office, they may still be eligible for SPL and ShPP so long as they meet all the qualifying criteria.

As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in line with the Government’s legislation on employment rights.

Applications have closed for the Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs role. As was practice under the previous administration we do not comment on competitions underway.

We have designed the measure to strike the right balance for UK industry, strengthening protection for domestic producers while allowing a necessary volume of imports into the UK.

We have set quota levels to reflect the specific needs of the UK steel sector, calibrated against the UK’s production capability, capacity and demand levels and reflecting market conditions.

We will continue to monitor the measure, including the quota utilisation rates, and review it after 12 months.

This steel trade measure has been carefully designed to take account of UK industry needs, and to ensure continued supply of necessary imports to meet these aims.

An Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the relevant legislation was published on 30 June, setting out the expected impacts of this measure on different types of businesses.

We have engaged with downstream industries and will continue to do so as the measure is implemented. We will continue to monitor the measure and review it after 12 months.

Officials work closely with HMRC, who are responsible for administrating the steel trade measures, but neither I nor any other Minister in this department has had direct discussions with HMRC on this.

The Supply Chain Centre will work with sector teams and other parts of government, in collaboration with businesses, to monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and help improve readiness to handle supply chain disruptions.

The list of tariffs for each of these goods can be found on the Government’s Online Tariff Tool here, which provides the most up-to-date details on the tariffs applied to imports from every country. The Government continues to monitor and review its tariff policy on an ongoing basis to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

The Supply Chain Centre has been allocated a budget of £2,908,272 in 2026/27. This covers staffing and non-pay. Budgets for future years will be allocated in due course.

The Supply Chain Centre identified a wide range of goods considered vital for the manufacturing Industrial Strategy sectors and foundational sectors that underpin them. The inputs were identified through an extensive programme of analysis, engagement with sector experts from across government, and further verification through engagement with industry and academia.

Grouping names were informed by and (where possible) aligned to the Harmonized System (2 digit) Chapter definitions. For readability or brevity some grouping names were shortened.

The growth driving inputs within the 36 categories include raw materials, manufactured parts and finished products. The supply chains for these goods are often complex, and each business will have a unique combination of dependencies across domestic and global supply.

The Supply Chain Centre will continue to support UK businesses to review their supply chains, identify potential UK producers of goods critical to their own growth strategies, and to identify routes to diversification to improve resilience.

We have engaged extensively with the UK steel industry, including both producers and downstream users, on the design of the steel trade measure. As set out in the steel strategy, a strong domestic steel sector and competitive downstream user base depend on one another, and our approach seeks to support both. The new measure protects domestic producers while allowing a necessary volume of tariff-free imports into the UK. The Government will continue to actively monitor the implementation of the measure, including a review after 12 months, to ensure it operates as intended.

The iron and steel sector supports c. 33,000 direct jobs in the country. Through our £500 million grant for Tata Steel UK’s EAF transformation project at Port Talbot we saved 5,000 UK jobs and our intervention at Scunthorpe last April resulted in British Steel cancelling its redundancy consultation which had put 2,700 jobs at immediate risk. Through the Steel Council, industry, government, and the third sector will work together, bringing expertise to look at workforce considerations on skills and innovation.

There are no plans to introduce a steel import monitoring system, similar to those operated by the United States or Canada. However, we will continue to assess international approaches and will consider measures where they are necessary to address market distortions, support UK industry, and ensure fair trading conditions. As noted in the Steel Strategy, we are exploring the possibility of introducing a reporting requirement to identify where steel imports were melted and poured.

As announced within the Steel Strategy, we are exploring the possibility of introducing a reporting requirement to identify where steel imports were melted and poured, in order to better understand our supply chains and ensure the UK steel industry is protected from global overcapacity. Canada and the US enforce such requirements and the EU will introduce one from October 2026.

Access to quotas is granted by HMRC, and resale of quotas by importers is not permitted. This will be monitored through HMRC and Border Force compliance systems and HMRC will take appropriate enforcement action where cases of non-compliance are detected.

The Department for Business and Trade has and will continue to run regular stakeholder forums, Ministerial roundtables, and direct business engagement on the steel trade measure. In addition, businesses can raise operational tariff-related difficulties through HMRC’s established customs and tariff support routes, including existing enquiry services and trader guidance channels.

We will be actively monitoring the implementation of the steel trade measure to ensure it operates as intended. This includes through established Department for Business and Trade stakeholder forums, Ministerial roundtables and direct business engagement. We will also review the measure after 12 months.

The Government has carefully considered the potential impacts of the steel trade measure, including in relation to supply and prices. We will monitor the implementation of the measure closely and maintain regular engagement with producers and downstream users to understand supply chain impacts. The measure will also be reviewed after 12 months.

The central purpose of the trade measure is not to raise tariff revenue, so we have not made any such estimate.

We will update Parliament and the public on our Regulation Action Plan commitments in due course, including the progress made against the 25% target since our latest update in October.

A strong domestic steel sector and competitive downstream industries depend on one another. Strengthening UK steelmaking supports more resilient supply chains.

Based on 2025 trade levels, around 74% by value and 53% by volume of steel imports are not covered by the trade measure, so entirely outside of these tariffs.

The trade measure only applies to steel categories that can be produced in the UK, with quotas set to ensure continued availability of tariff-free imports. There is a transitionary arrangement in place to help supply chains adapt.

The Government will continue to engage with industry and actively monitor impacts, including through a review after 12 months.

We have engaged closely with the EU and with UK industry and agreed an approach that reflects the UK and EU’s highly interconnected supply chains. As a result of these discussions, our country specific quota for the EU has increased from the previously announced 1.63Mt to 2.08Mt. The EU will be announcing quota volumes for the UK under its own measure shortly, ahead of 1 July. The approach we have agreed will provide stability for UK-EU steel trade from 1 July, while we continue to work together to strengthen UK-EU steel trade longer term.

In accordance with World Trade Organization rules, the UK’s steel safeguard expires on 30 June. We cannot extend the existing safeguard and cannot risk any gap in protection, particularly at a time of rising global overcapacity, which would leave the UK steel sector exposed. From 1 July 2026, we are introducing a new trade measure that will limit tariff-free steel imports and reduce overall quota volumes by 51% compared to the Steel Safeguard. Any imports above these levels will face a 50% tariff. The overall quota volume will be 3.2mt.

In the past 12 months, the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has completed five reviews of the steel safeguard. These reviews were in response to applications from industry, to make sure the measure remained appropriate for the UK market. Domestic and foreign industry, including downstream users, were invited by the TRA to participate and submit evidence. The steel safeguard expires on 30 June. From 1 July 2026, we will limit tariff-free steel imports and reduce overall quota volumes by 51% compared to the steel safeguard, with an overall quota volume of 3.2mt. Any imports above these levels will face a 50% tariff.

As announced on 25 June, the Government has finalised quotas to strike the right balance between securing the future of domestic capability while maintaining fair and competitive supply chains. We will review the measure after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for businesses.

The Government recognises the particular challenges that Canada’s regulatory system poses for small volume manufacturers (SVMs) wishing to export their vehicles to the market.

Following the establishment of a bilateral dialogue on this matter, DBT has held its first official meeting with Transport Canada to secure clarity on the requirements of Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as well as potential market entry pathways for bespoke and specialist vehicles.

We are planning further engagement with Transport Canada over the coming months to determine any options that may be available to ease the process for UK SVMs to export their products to the Canadian market.

The UK remains the only country to have secured a 10% tariff for automotives within quota - saving hundreds of millions of pounds on UK exports annually.

We will continue to engage with the US Administration, and with the UK autos industry on how we can best deliver for them.

Supporting the sector remains a priority for this Government, and we will keep industry informed to support business planning and future investment decisions.

The UK's landmark economic deal with the US will protect thousands of jobs, support key British industries, and help drive economic growth.

We have discussed and progressed UK small volume car manufacturers (SVMs) concerns at official and Ministerial level with Australia, including through dialogue under our UK-Australia FTA and via regulator‑to‑regulator discussions, all focused on improving outcomes for UK manufacturers. The UK has also engaged with Australia through the WTO, raising a Specific Trade Concern to highlight the impact of Australia’s vehicle emissions scheme on UK SVMs. We will continue to press for proportionate regulatory treatment and improved market access for UK exporters.

The Government has carefully designed this measure to minimise downstream impacts while addressing the existential threat to UK steelmaking. Current production levels have been considered in determining quota sizes. The measure has been designed, as far as is technically possible, to only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. Where this is not feasible, quotas have been designed to allow sufficient imports. We will closely monitor the impacts and will review the measure after 12 months to ensure the balance is right for businesses in all sectors, including aerospace.

The Government engaged extensively with both primary steel producers and downstream users across supply chains to inform development of the trade measure, including a Call for Evidence in July 2025. We engaged extensively with industry when developing this measure and have taken a range of views into consideration whilst balancing the need to protect domestic steelmaking with wider impacts on downstream users. We have set quota levels to reflect the specific needs of the UK steel sector, calibrated against the UK’s production capability and demand levels.

The measure is designed to only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

UK steel companies do not maintain a fixed list of steel grades and cannot be produced domestically, as capability evolves in response to market demand and investment. UK producers manufacture a wide range of steel products. However, current production levels were taken into account when setting quota sizes, and further information can be found on GOV.UK.

We will closely monitor implementation of the measure and review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.

The measure is designed to only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

UK steel companies do not maintain a fixed list of steel grades and cannot be produced domestically, as capability evolves in response to market demand and investment. UK producers manufacture a wide range of steel products. However, current production levels were taken into account when setting quota sizes, and further information can be found on GOV.UK.

We will closely monitor implementation of the measure and review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.

The measure is designed to only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

UK steel companies do not maintain a fixed list of steel grades and cannot be produced domestically, as capability evolves in response to market demand and investment. UK producers manufacture a wide range of steel products. However, current production levels were taken into account when setting quota sizes, and further information can be found on GOV.UK.

We will closely monitor implementation of the measure and review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.

UK steel producers do not maintain a fixed list of steel grades that can or cannot be produced domestically, as capability evolves in response to market demand and investment. UK producers manufacture a wide range of steel products, and current production levels were taken into account when setting quota sizes. Further information on this can be found on GOV.UK.

The Government engaged extensively with both primary steel producers and downstream users to inform development of the steel trade measure, including a Call for Evidence in July 2025. Quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

Categories 14 and 27 will be covered by the Measure. Further information on the product codes in scope is available on GOV.UK.

We will continue engaging regularly with companies across the supply chain, through Ministerial and official level engagement, and will monitor implementation of the measure. This includes conducting a review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective and that the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.

The Government engaged extensively with both primary steel producers and downstream users to inform development of the steel trade measure, including a Call for Evidence in July 2025. Quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of these goods to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.

Categories 14 and 27 will be covered by the Measure. Further information on the product codes in scope is available on GOV.UK.

We will continue engaging regularly with companies across the supply chain, through Ministerial and official level engagement, and will monitor implementation of the measure. This includes conducting a review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective and that the balance is right for both producers and downstream users.