Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to publish the findings of the statutory review of the Pubs Code.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The third statutory review covering the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2025 is in progress and the government’s report will be published as soon as practicable. My officials are currently analysing the evidence collected from last year’s call for evidence and from other publicly available sources. Stakeholder responses to the call for evidence have greatly assisted my officials in identifying emerging themes and are further informing the review’s content. I am grateful for the helpful input provided by stakeholders and will continue to engage with them in taking forward the conclusions to the review.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment has he made of the adequacy of Government support for tied pubs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Pubs are central to local life, which is why we’ve delivered permanent business‑rates cuts for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses and are providing £4.3bn to shield ratepayers from bill increases following the revaluation. On top of this support, the Chancellor announced a 15% reduction in pubs’ new business‑rates bills from April, and their bills will be frozen for two years. Pubs will pay 8% less in business rates in 2029 than they do right now.
We are also pressing ahead with further licensing and planning reforms to help pubs, whilst providing £10 million over the next three years that could support over 1000 pubs diversify.
For tied pubs, the Government is conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the Performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 skills levels on advanced manufacturing businesses in Calder Valley constituency.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government recognises the importance of skills for manufacturing across the UK, including for businesses in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley. Through our new Modern Industrial Strategy we are investing an extra £1.2 billion yearly by 2028-29 to develop workforce capabilities and career opportunities.
The accompanying Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan outlines further government support for building a skilled, inclusive workforce through skills reforms including shorter apprenticeships, sector-wide reskilling, and changing public perceptions of manufacturing.
DBT works closely with Department for Education and Skills England. Skills England published two reports this summer, the Skills for growth and opportunity report, and the Assessment of priority skills to 2030, providing invaluable evidence to shape skills policy, including for the manufacturing sector.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many social media accounts their Department operates; and how much their Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
DBT's spend for the last three calendar years on social media subscriptions was as follows (table):
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
X/Twitter Premium annual subscription | £0 | £0 | £99 |
DBT's spend for the last three calendar years on social media advertising by platform was as follows (table):
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED | £2,655,074 | £2,066,426 | £1,979,092 |
META PLATFORMS IRELAND LIMITED | £432,192 | £318,433 | £247,498 |
TWITTER UK LTD | £165,370 | £32,554 |
|
NEXTDOOR EUROPE UK LIMITED |
| £12,500 | £9,727 |
SNAP GROUP LIMITED |
| £8,500 | £11,364 |
TOTAL | £3,252,636 | £2,438,413 | £2,247,681 |