Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to reduce the cost of groceries by reducing tariffs on fruit and vegetables not (a) grown and (b) processed in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of the Budget, the Government launched an application window for new duty suspensions on 26 November to help reduce import costs. Stakeholders have until 4 February 2026 to apply for the UK Global Tariff rate to be temporarily suspended on goods which are not produced, or not produced in sufficient quantities, in the UK and Crown Dependencies, including on fruit and vegetables. As a result of the previous application window announced in March 2025, the Government suspended tariffs on a range of food and drink products including fruit juices, pine nuts and raisins.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has conducted a sectoral impact analysis of the potential UK accession to the PEM Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government recognises that PEM accession could bring benefits to British businesses but that the potential benefits and risks will likely vary both within and across sectors. Our Call for Evidence, launched on 17 November, seeks input from business directly to better understand these sectoral impacts. It will end on 15 December.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 benefits and risks to UK exporters of joining the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, joining the PEM Convention could simplify rules of origin across the UK’s nearest neighbours and increase supply chain flexibility for UK exporters. However, the Government recognises the benefits and risks of accession could vary both within and across sectors. We have therefore launched a Call for Evidence to seek direct business and partner input on the opportunities and risks that might flow from joining PEM. This will run until 15 December.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to publish a summary of responses to the call for evidence on the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Once the Call for Evidence has closed, the government will review and analyse the responses received and decide how best to proceed and what to publish.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the time and resources required to negotiate UK accession to the PEM Convention with existing members.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No decision has been made on UK accession to the PEM Convention. As set out in the Trade Strategy, we are now engaging business and PEM partners to consider the potential merits of accession and launched a Call for Evidence on 17 November. A decision to seek to join the PEM Convention will only be taken if it is in the national interest and reflects business sentiment. It would be premature therefore to comment on the nature of hypothetical negotiations or the resources that might be required to engage in them, hypothetically.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the answer of 4 November 2025 to question UIN 86627, has the Minister convened the roundtable together with with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the Post Office and key banks on potentially expanding the range of banking services available at post offices.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Together with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, I plan to co-chair a roundtable with the Post Office and key banks. Due to diary constraints this has not been possible yet but will happen in due course.
Exploring opportunities for further collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector remains a priority and I plan to continue raising the issue at all appropriate opportunities, including the upcoming roundtable.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people impacted by the Horizon IT system failure received settlements lower than their original claims.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold this information in a way that allows for reliable reporting. Each claim is assessed individually, and settlement offers vary depending on the specific circumstances of each case. As such, providing a figure would be misleading.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much the Government paid in its settlement to Sir Alan Bates.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is unable to disclose amounts awarded to individual GLO claimants.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to publish a list of (a) sectors and (b) companies eligible for the 90% relief under the revised Network Charging Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The eligibility criteria of the Network Charging Compensation Scheme has not changed, only the level of relief offered to current eligible firms supported by the British Industry Supercharger. A list of these firms, as at 16 September 2025, is available on the GOV.UK website and will be updated should any more firms receive support. The eligibility criteria are based on the pre-existing Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Exemption scheme. A list of sectors eligible for support can also be found on the GOV.UK website, within the guidance to the EII Exemption Scheme.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 ensure that the uplift in compensation for energy intensive industries does not lead to increased costs for other electricity consumers.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will bear down on costs across the energy system to ensure that the uplift of the relief offered by the Network Charging Compensation Scheme does not lead to a net increase in electricity bills for domestic and non-domestic energy consumers. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published a consultation seeking views on the proposal to amend the inflation indexation of the Renewables Obligation (RO) from the RPI to the CPI. If implemented, this may contribute to that goal.