Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff his Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has hosted no secondees from Hakluyt since July 2024.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many of his Department's officials have been seconded from (a) the Institute for Economic Affairs, (b) the Policy Exchange, (c) the Adam Smith Institute and (d) Labour Together since July 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Thank you to my Hon. Friend for his question. I can inform him that the Department for Business and Trade has hosted no secondees from (a) the Institute for Economic Affairs, (b) the Policy Exchange, (c) the Adam Smith Institute and (d) Labour Together since July 2024.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Thank you to my Hon. Friend for his question. I can inform him that the Department for Business and Trade has hosted no secondees from Palantir.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Export Control Joint Unit reviews urgent trade sanctions licence applications in a timely manner.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
In making decisions on whether to grant a licence to permit something otherwise prohibited by sanctions legislation & regulations, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), comprised of subject matter experts and officials in the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Ministry of Defence, acts on behalf of the Secretary of State. ECJU is obligated to consider applications on a case-by-case basis, determining whether granting a licence would be consistent with the stated purposes of the sanctions regime, licensing grounds, and United Nations or international law obligations.
When assessing applications ECJU also consults and considers views from a range of other government departments.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Greg Hands
We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Department for Business and Trade have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money. Details of ministerial and senior official hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to increase the areas of the economy covered by sectoral collective bargaining.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Collective bargaining in the UK is largely a matter for individual employers, their employees and their trade unions. Many employers recognise a union voluntarily. Where an employer refuses to recognise a union, our trade union law provides for a statutory recognition procedure. This allows independent unions to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to be statutorily recognised for collective bargaining purposes.
Unions that can demonstrate that they have majority support for recognition in the workplace will secure statutory recognition from the CAC.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
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 the steel industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government is actively engaging with the steel industry for a sustainable future. The industry has been able to bid into competitive funds worth more than £1billion to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation. The British Industry Supercharger will bring energy costs for energy intensive industries, including steel, in line with the world’s major economies.
We have updated the Steel Procurement Policy Note to create a level playing field for UK steel producers, implemented a robust trade remedies framework to protect domestic industry, including steel, and acted to resolve market access constraints on steel trade with the US and the EU.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on wages in each of the next five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill Impact Assessment and subsequent consultation-stage Impact Assessments for services in rail, fire and rescue, and ambulances were published and all provide an assessment of the potential impact on wages.