Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 impact of small businesses on economic growth.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 5.7 million businesses, representing over 99.9% of the business population, and make a substantial contribution to UK economic activity. They generate around 51% of UK private sector turnover (£2.8 trillion) and employ around 16.9 million people, equivalent to 60% of private sector jobs.
DBT analysis suggests that accelerating SME growth by just 1 percentage point a year could deliver £320 billion to the UK economy by 2030.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage investment in businesses located in economically disadvantaged regions.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
84% of businesses supported by the British Business Bank were outside London in 2024/25. The expected boost to Gross Value Added expected from those businesses supported in 2024/25 is more than £100 million in every UK nation and region.
Their £1.6 billion Nations and Regions Investment Funds programme provides debt and equity finance to businesses across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and three regions of England that would otherwise struggle to get it. The programme is designed to ensure funds are distributed across the whole area, not just finance hotspots.
Two new funds are due to launch later this year, in South and East England.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with employment rights in the gig economy.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government established the Fair Work Agency (FWA) in April 2026, which will deliver a much-needed upgrade to employment rights enforcement. It brings enforcement functions of three predecessor bodies together into one place, so employment rights are enforced more effectively and efficiently. In time, it will also enforce additional rights.
All employers must comply with their legal obligations to ensure that their staff receive the rights they are entitled to, including those in the gig economy.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many workers have been impacted by enforcement actions related to breaches of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 in the last year.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
HMRC enforces National Minimum Wage (NMW) regulations on behalf of the Fair Work Agency (FWA), through both responding to worker complaints, and targeted enforcement activity.
The latest enforcement and compliance report (2025) shows that in 2024-2025 HMRC identified over 25,000 workers who were underpaid, recovering around £5.8 million in arrears. Since the NMW came into effect in 1999, HMRC has overseen the repayment of £200 million to more than 1.5 million workers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 impact of new trade agreements on manufacturing exports.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department publishes analysis to assess the potential impacts of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in advance of negotiations. On conclusion of negotiations, the Department publishes full impact assessments. The analysis in these publications covers a number of areas, including the potential impacts on the UK’s regions and nations as well as on sectors, such as manufacturing. I am glad to say that the recently concluded FTA with the GCC aligns closely with our Industrial Strategy and confidently expect it will lead to increased manufacturing exports.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with business representatives on export opportunities following the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly engage with a wide range of business representatives to discuss export opportunities. These discussions take place through formal stakeholder forums, sector roundtables, and bilateral meetings, and help inform our trade and export support priorities. We continue to work closely with businesses of all sizes to help them take advantage of opportunities arising from new trade deals, including the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and the ever-growing Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), improved EU cooperation, and wider global markets, supported by our Trade Strategy, and export support services.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 effectiveness of the Insolvency Service in tackling fraudulent business practices.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Insolvency Service plays a key part in tackling fraudulent business practices. The agency has established the systems needed to investigate offences introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and is strengthening its partnership with Companies House to improve corporate transparency, support the business environment and tackle economic crime.
The agency has continued to achieve significant enforcement outcomes in 2025-26, including the disqualification of over 1,000 directors, 77 criminal convictions and 52 companies wound-up in the public interest. Civil compensation orders and undertakings totalled £4,548,018, while criminal sentence confiscation orders totalled £1,901,579.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support is available to small exporters seeking to access new markets overseas.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Exports are central to the Government’s growth mission. For the first time, DBT has integrated its business support offer in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service – to help firms start, scale, and succeed. From tailored market advice and free Business Academy training to UK Export Finance and our on-the-ground international network, we are making it easier for businesses to navigate global markets and build resilience. Through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), businesses can also benefit from tariff reductions and improved market access and DBT works with businesses to ensure they have the tools and knowledge they need to seize these opportunities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 trends in the level of regional disparities in business start-up rates across the UK.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Data on regional start-up rates is available via the Office for National Statistics Business Demography publication. Latest data shows that London has the highest rate of business births and Northern Ireland has the lowest. There has been relatively little movement in disparities in regional start-up rates in recent years (2021 to 2024).
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to support small businesses adopting digital technologies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Last summer, the industry-led SME Digital Adoption Taskforce set out ten recommendations to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt digital technology, and boost productivity. We are taking these forward, including by collaborating with industry on new commitments to deliver support that addresses digital adoption barriers: lack of information, resources and skills.
We are running pilots with West of England Combined Authority and Leeds City Council, to test the best ways to help SMEs with digital adoption. We are also delivering support through the new Business Growth Service, with events and videos covering relevant topics as part of the Business Academy.