Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question 123378, what are the job titles for the FTE staff.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a measure of the accumulated time recorded across the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) by staff who have allocated any of their time to the Sustainability Taskforce. The FTE figure does not represent an equivalent number of job titles or posts.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120645 on Competition and Markets Authority: Costs, what expenditure the Competition and Markets Authority has incurred on (a) consultants, (b) research and (c) external contracts in support of the Sustainability Taskforce since its establishment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has not incurred expenditure on (a) consultants, (b) research and (c) external contracts in support of the Sustainability Taskforce.
Since its establishment, the expenditure for the Sustainability Taskforce is as follows:
FY | Staff Costs | Non-Staff Costs | Total Cost | Full-Time Equivalent |
2023-24 | £418,715.01 | £3,335.36 | £422,050.37 | 5.4 |
2024-25 | £342,306.01 | £677.18 | £342,983.19 | 3.9 |
Non-staff costs cover other programme expenditure such as travel and subsistence.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 current battery costs per kWh; and what assumptions underpin projections for future cost reductions.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Department does not publish an official estimate and for benchmarking we reference internationally trusted, independent sources.
Battery technology is becoming increasingly important for our national resilience. Global demand for batteries is surging, the battery value chain from raw material extraction to cell production is very concentrated.
We work closely with international partners to improve security of supply, and the Industrial Strategy published last year clearly shows the importance of building a competitive domestic battery supply in delivering economic resilience and growth for the UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 the effectiveness of private enforcement in competition cases in the courts.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The competition opt-out collective actions regime enables competition claims to be brought where many individuals have claims substantially similar in nature. This provides a route to litigation where it would otherwise be impractical or unaffordable.
The Government launched a review of the operation of the competition opt-out collective actions regime in August 2025, commencing with a call for evidence that closed on 14 October 2025. Responses to the call for evidence are now being considered and a consultation on options for reform will be brought forward in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 UK remains competitive for (a) pharmaceutical and (b) life sciences inward investment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the Government’s 10-year plan to grow the UK’s life sciences sector, including pharmaceuticals, and drive inward investment. It includes 33 actions with clear milestones and metrics to support delivery — from setting up the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome; to committing to reduce clinical trial set-up times to under 150 days; to streamlining regulation and market access.
Delivery is already underway: recruitment is advancing for the Chair and CEO of the new Health Data Research Service; we have launched Europe’s first Biofoundry for mRNA manufacturing; and announced the £85 million Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme with Eli Lilly.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has identified international trade compliance obligations for (a) simplification and (b) removal.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
This Government's central mission is economic growth, with trade being a core part of that Mission. The Trade Strategy sets out a clear plan to maximise trade opportunities now and in the future. The Trade Strategy is grounded in the realities of the context in which we are operating and provides practical tools to support businesses to trade and drive growth both in the current context and in the future. It will primarily focus on the ways that trade is changing and how the UK can take a forward-facing approach to upcoming challenges.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 the accuracy of its compliance cost evaluations.
Answered by Justin Madders
On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that government will cut the costs of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. First, we must fully understand these costs. To do this, we will establish a robust regulatory baseline by using data government already holds and working in partnership with business to understand their real-life experiences of complying with regulation.
Reducing these costs on businesses will allow them to flourish and to innovate, enabling economic growth.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how frequently his Department reviews initial compliance cost estimates in impact assessments.
Answered by Justin Madders
Sections 28–31 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 set the legislative requirements for the inclusion of statutory review provisions in secondary legislation, including that a report of the first review must be published within five years of the relevant legislation's commencement date and subsequent reports published at intervals not exceeding five years. In the absence of a review provision, the post-implementation review statutory guidance made under section 31 of the act states that policies should still be subject to proportionate monitoring, evaluation and non-statutory review, where appropriate.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what methodology his Department uses to identify potentially unnecessary regulations.
Answered by Justin Madders
The government is reforming the regulatory landscape because it is not functioning as effectively as it should. Officials in the Department for Business and Trade are working with colleagues across government and have undertaken extensive engagement with businesses, think tanks and other key stakeholders to identify regulatory barriers to economic growth across the Industrial Strategy growth-driving sectors.
In particular, this work is being informed by responses to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, so we are hearing directly from as many stakeholders as possible. These reforms will be published in due course as part of the Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what accountability measures exist for civil servants producing regulatory impact assessments.
Answered by Justin Madders
When producing regulatory impact assessments, the government expects all civil servants to adhere to published guidance including the Better Regulation Framework and HM Treasury Green Book.
All civil servants involved in the production of impact assessments are subject to the standards of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality set out in the Civil Service Code and are held to account principally through their relevant performance management framework.