Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) science and (b) technology sectors.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) includes a number of provisions that will in future benefit UK science and technology sectors. These include, for example, provisions on future negotiations on significantly preferential tariff treatment for pharmaceutical products, and an ambitious set of digital trade provisions.
Given detailed negotiations on these provisions have not yet concluded, it is not possible to undertake an impact assessment at this point.
As the Prime Minister has said, the Economic Prosperity Deal “opens the way to a future UK-US technology partnership through which our science-rich nations will collaborate in key areas of advanced technology”.
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the energy sector.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On 16 June, we announced concrete progress towards the implementation of the UK-US trade deal as agreed on 8 May. We continue to work closely with the energy sector to understand the impacts of the UK-US trade deal.
The government is committed to supporting the UK’s energy sector, including through our Industrial Strategy in which Clean Energy Industries is one of the eight growth sectors.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) culture, (b) media and (c) sport sectors.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The deal does not have direct or immediate implications for the culture, media or sports sectors, but the UK and US have a long mutually beneficial relationship embracing our thriving cultural, media and sports sectors and we will continue to monitor the situation, and take action where needed to protect and promote these sectors' interests.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) environment and (b) food sectors.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests.
This deal has created a reciprocal agreement to lower tariffs for British beef exporters to the US, while acting in the UK’s national interest by ensuring that we uphold our rigorous food standards while protecting our farmers.
The agreement on beef means that around 1.5% of the UK beef market could come from the United States, and the same quantity of British beef can be exported to them.
We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security and uphold our high food, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.
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 issue embargoed copies of the industrial strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy will be published shortly, and the department is currently finalising plans for publication.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the capital budget for flood defences was in each of the last three fiscal years; and what the capital budget for flood defences is for each year of the 2025 Spending Review period.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are investing £2.65 billion over two years in 2024/25 to 2025/26 maintain, repair, and build flood defences. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, the Spending Review settlement committed a further £4.2 billion total investment over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country. This is £1.4 billion on average each year – a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26. Further details will be published at Main Estimates.
Information on previous years spend is published as part of the Environment Agency Section 18 reports which can be found here Flood and coastal erosion risk management annual report - GOV.UK.
We are consulting on proposals for reforming flood defence funding, protecting all communities including rural, coastal, and poorer areas.
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 he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the research published by IoD entitled IoD research finds employment law reforms will damage UK economic growth, published on 6 June 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department has published a set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes con-sideration of impacts on economic growth. This analysis is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments
This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts, including on economic growth, given the current stage of policy development. We are refining our analysis as policy development continues, working closely with external experts, businesses and trade unions.
The department regularly meets with the Institute of Directors to discuss a range of policies included in the Employment Rights Bill and, as with all stakeholders, we value the insight they provide.
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 budget was allocated to the Office for Investment in the spending review 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
£3.8 billion was allocated to The Department for Business and Trade as part of the Spending Review, which includes funding for the Office for Investment (OfI). As set out previously, (9th June), the OfI's budget for FY 2025/6 is £24,671,291.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Ofgem's readiness criteria for the UK data centre sector on growth in that sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has worked closely with Ofgem and NESO on major reforms to the grid connections process. These reforms are expected to deprioritise up to 500GW of excess generation and storage capacity from the connections queue, freeing up capacity for viable connection customers across GB, such as data centres. The ‘readiness’ criteria will ensure that limited grid capacity is allocated fairly, prioritising connection offers for projects, including data centres, that are demonstrably ready to deliver – helping maximise efficient use of the network. The AI Energy Council will also consider grid connections opportunities for growth in the data centre sector.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, published on 26 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for (a) improving skills and (b) increasing recruitment in the construction sector in the context of trends in apprenticeship retention rates.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to addressing skills shortages in the construction sector and supporting workforce growth. In the Spring Statement 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a £625 million investment to train 60,000 skilled construction workers by 2029, supporting the delivery of 1.5 million homes and economic growth. This includes £165 million for college construction courses, £100 million for ten new Technical Excellence Colleges, and £32 million via the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) for 40,000 industry placements annually.
From August, new foundation apprenticeships, backed by a £3 billion apprenticeship budget, will launch, with construction among the key sectors. Employers will receive £2,000 for each foundation apprentice, and three new construction standards will be introduced. CITB is also expanding its New Entrant Support Team, while partnerships like the Persimmon Homes Academy are improving retention and progression.
In addition, the department recently announced over £190 million in additional funding for 16 to 19 education in 2025/26, including £160 million for colleges and £30 million for school-based provision. This is in addition to construction-specific skills funding.
To further support teaching capacity, we are expanding initiatives such as Taking Teaching Further, targeted retention payments, and a £20 million Teacher Industry Exchange scheme, promoting collaboration between further education providers and construction employers.