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Written Question
Trading Standards
Wednesday 9th July 2025

Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)

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 ensure that services provided through the Buy with Confidence Scheme complete satisfactory work.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Buy With Confidence scheme is run solely by local authority Trading Standards departments.

Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales operate independently from central government and are responsible for the provision of Trading Standards services. This includes responsibility for assessing businesses joining the scheme, business compliance and enforcement if things go wrong.

DBT has strengthened consumer law enforcement through the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Act gives local authorities the ability to apply to the courts for civil sanctions to impose monetary penalties on businesses who exploit their customers.

Written Question
Sheep Meat: Import Controls
Monday 31st March 2025

Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of placing a ban on the import of lamb produced on farms that carry out mulesing without pain relief.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government is firmly committed to upholding our animal welfare standards and to promoting robust standards internationally.

The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission considered, in the context of its report on the UK-Australia FTA, the issue of imports to the UK of lamb that has been subject to mulesing without pain relief. The Commission concluded that lambs reared for meat are not mulesed and the likelihood of mutton from mulesed sheep being imported into the UK is negligible.

Written Question
Insolvency: Government Assistance
Friday 31st January 2025

Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) employment and (b) mental health support is available to entrepreneurs whose businesses go into liquidation.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

  • The Department for Work and Pensions' new jobs and careers service will bring together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service in England. This will deliver a new, locally led system of work and health support for those who are economically inactive, including entrepreneurs whose businesses have gone into liquidation. The support includes face-to-face, phone, and a radically enhanced digital offer through a single 'front door' for those wishing to get back into work.

  • Entrepreneurs looking for support with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their GP. Anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now speak to a trained NHS professional at any time through a new mental health option on NHS 111.

  • Information on where to find local NHS support is available to the public through the NHS every mind matters website https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/. There is also the Hub of Hope, which is the UK’s leading mental health support database. The Hub brings local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place, so that anyone struggling can find the most appropriate support. The Hub can be found at hubofhope.co.uk.