Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to prevent companies from changing commissions to franchisees at short notice.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The franchising industry self-regulates through the British Franchise Association (BFA) and its Code of Ethics, and the Quality Franchise Association, which offers a Code of Conduct. Franchise agreements are the primary instrument that govern the relationship between franchisors and franchisees and those should normally include details such as fees, territory rights, contract duration and dispute resolution mechanisms. Disputes are, therefore, a private matter in which it would be inappropriate for Government to intervene.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department awarded financial assistance to Vodafone during the 2020 lockdown.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not comment on whether individual businesses received financial assistance during the 2020 lockdown as that information is considered commercially sensitive.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 that people in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire are able to access essential postal services.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy to support the delivery of a minimum number of Post Office branches and a geographical spread of these branches in line with published access criteria. This requires 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason there is no mention of (a) farming and (b) agriculture in the Government's industrial strategy entitled Invest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategy, published in October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy identified eight growth-driving sectors but all sectors can shape and will benefit from wider policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations. The Government is engaging with the food, drink and farming industries regularly. The Government has committed £5 billion to the farming budget for England over two years directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many full time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion staff are employed by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority does not have any full time equivalent staff dedicated to diversity, equality and inclusion.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to reduce the (a) risk of and (b) impact from fires in agricultural vehicles.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 set out the essential requirements that must be met before a machinery product is placed on the UK market, in order to protect users of that machinery from any undue harm. This includes agricultural vehicles in scope.
As part of those existing requirements, machinery must be designed and constructed in such a way as to avoid any risk of fire or overheating posed by the machinery itself or by gases, liquids, dust, vapours or other substances produced or used by the machinery.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support food producers from Lincolnshire to increase exports.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT provides a wide-ranging package of export support for food and drink businesses in Lincolnshire and the whole of the UK. This includes educational support to upskill food producers via our Export Academy and one to one support from International Trade Advisors and our extensive overseas network, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. Overseas we deliver a comprehensive programme of trade shows, trade missions and events to connect exporters with buyer and new market opportunities. Our UK Export Finance agency helps companies access export finance, with a dedicated finance manager covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 economic impact of foreign direct investment projects in Lincolnshire in the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) looks to encourage investment across the UK, working closely with relevant economic development and inward investment officers across the whole of the Lincolnshire region.
Investment into the region has seen 1,295 new jobs were created in the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area in 2021-22, 1,159 in 2022-23 and 198 in 2023-24. Statistics at LEP level are not available for previous years.
The estimated economic impact of FDI in the UK in 2023-24 was £5.8bn and analysis shows that FDI has a net economic benefit to the whole of the UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 help support the growth of independent brewers in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Independent brewers, including those in Lincolnshire, are at the heart of many of our communities and important for economic growth.
The government is reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and will consult on ways to encourage small brewers to retain and expand their access to UK pubs, maximising drinkers’ choice and local economies.
This Government will be publishing our Small Business Strategy next year. This will set out our vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy.
Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many jobs were created in Lincolnshire as a result of foreign direct investment in the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Official statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbt-inward-investment-results-2023-to-2024 show that 1,295 new jobs were created in Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2021-22, 1,159 in 2022-23 and 198 in 2023-24. Statistics at LEP level are not available for previous years. Figures were published at International Territorial Level 2 (ITL2) for the first time in 2023-24 which showed that 182 new jobs were created in Lincolnshire. Previous years figures at ITL2 level are not available.