Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 2nd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

13. What recent progress she has made on increasing levels of trade with the United States.

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kemi Badenoch)]

Over the past two years, UK-US trade has grown 35% from £230 billion to £311 billion, while shared investment between our two nations now totals over £1.1 trillion. In March, following the excellent work of our trade envoy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Sir Conor Burns), I signed a state-level arrangement with Texas. That means that UK businesses now have memorandums of understanding with eight US states with a combined GDP equivalent to a quarter of the whole US economy.

[Greg Smith]

I am delighted to report that US motorsport giant Andretti has shown a massive vote of confidence in the UK by taking 40,000 square feet of facilities in Buckinghamshire, with another 70,000 square feet on order, and is already employing over 100 people locally in high-tech jobs. That clearly opens up huge opportunities for automotive and motorsport supply-chain businesses on both sides of the pond, including General Motors. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming Andretti to the UK in its bid to get on to the Formula 1 grid, and what more can she do to ensure that automotive and motorsport supply chains can operate on both sides of the Atlantic?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I was delighted to see my hon. Friend visit the opening of Andretti Global’s new facility in Silverstone last month. I wish it luck as it continues its preparations to enter Formula 1. That investment is another vote of confidence in the world-leading innovation that the UK has to offer. Andretti Global will also specifically benefit from the MOU that we have signed with Indiana, which will enhance our trade relationship in key areas, including advanced manufacturing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kemi Badenoch]

I remember a time when Labour Members were telling everyone that we should not invest in nuclear, and it is under this Conservative Government that we are investing in nuclear infrastructure. That has only happened under Conservative Governments. The hon. Lady asks about the plan. I would remind her about the global investment summit we had in November, which raised nearly £30 billion in one day. No one is better than our current Prime Minister at delivering inward investment for this country. Business investment is rising, and it is rising because of the policies that he and the Chancellor have put in place, such as capital expensing.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

T5. Yesterday, I was pleased to meet a number of UK aerospace businesses demonstrating and showcasing extraordinary innovation right here in the United Kingdom, including Safran, which has a significant base in Pitstone in my constituency. Can I ask my hon. Friend what the Department has done to ensure that we can increase aerospace exports?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 7th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

The hon. Lady raises a significant issue around ensuring that disabled people are able to access employment and are paid properly. We have no plans to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting—no plans to introduce disability pay gap reporting at all. Unlike gender pay gap reporting, which is very simple, binary and easy to execute, disability pay gap reporting, like ethnicity pay gap reporting, is very complex. There are a range of disabilities that could not be easily monitored, so I would like to work with her on other areas where we can help to improve the lives of disabled people at work. We do not believe that disability pay gap reporting is the answer.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

T6. [R] Israel is one of the United Kingdom’s most dynamic trading partners, so does my right hon. Friend agree that prioritising a free trade deal with Israel will complement the good work that the Government are doing to defeat the haters as part of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, and send an unmistakeable message that the UK stands ready to strengthen our unbreakable friendship with Israel?

[Kemi Badenoch]

My hon. Friend is right. Israel’s current relationship with the UK is worth about £6.4 billion, but our FTA is a roll-over of the one that Israel signed in 1995 with the EU. It does not take into account services, digital, artificial intelligence or genome sequencing. There is a lot that we can do. That is why we are working on this FTA. It is a priority for us. As I said earlier, we face many challenges in carrying on negotiations with a country that is at war, but we are working to overcome them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 25th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

16. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that regulators support economic growth.

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kemi Badenoch)]

At the autumn statement, we announced the decision to extend the growth duty to Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom, alongside a series of reforms to the duty to hold regulators to account for delivering growth in the sectors they regulate. We are also currently consulting on proposals to strengthen the economic regulation of the energy, water and telecoms sectors.

[Greg Smith]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer, but on retained EU law reform, in the June to December 2023 reporting period there were only two regulatory reforms of note, which were on wine marketing and working time calculations; the rest were technical corrections. What steps is she taking to speed up reform of retained EU law to ensure that regulation works for business and enables growth?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I am glad that my hon. Friend read the report that I sent out this week on what we have been doing. However, I disagree that only two reforms of note have been delivered. We have repealed or reformed more than 2,000 measures. The Port Services Regulations 2019, which were not designed with UK ports in mind, are an example. We have also passed the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 and the Procurement Act 2023. I remind him that that list is what we are using the schedule for, and there are many other mechanisms in the retained EU law programme to deliver on that road map so that we improve our economy and make it more competitive by making sure that our laws are tailored to our economy.

Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 11th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

No, that is complete nonsense. The hon. Gentleman is talking about what he hopes and wishes would happen, rather than the reality.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I respectfully disagree with my right hon. Friend that this is a technical change, given the different status that retained EU law has in our system, but I look forward to discussing that further with her when she appears before us at the European Scrutiny Committee. In the meantime, can she give the House an assurance that not one jot of the concessions given in the House of Lords over this Bill are anything to do with upholding any commitment made in the negotiation of the Windsor framework?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I am very happy to say that. I was not involved in negotiations on the Windsor framework, and I have said repeatedly that this is my plan. It is not the Prime Minister’s plan, and it is not the civil servants’ plan—it is my plan. This is me going into the detail and deciding that this is the best way to deliver it. What my hon. Friend says about the special status of EU law is right. That is one of the things that is not changing; that is still ending. The sunset is still there for interpretive effects—for the supremacy of EU law—by the end of this year, which is the big thing we are trying to deliver, rather than lots of redundant regulations, many of which we have already got rid of. I re-emphasise that we will get rid of about 2,000 pieces of legislation in total by the end of this year. The schedule is just the final 600, and another 200 commencement regulations go with them. I think he will be very pleased with the result.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 15th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Exports such as squid from the Falklands are an enormously important part of the economies of our overseas territories and Crown dependencies. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that everything possible is being done to support the trading relationships of this important part of the British family?

[Kemi Badenoch]

We work closely with the Crown dependencies and overseas territories to ensure their interests are actively represented in our FTA programme and trade negotiations. DIT officials have fortnightly contact with them, and the Minister for Trade Policy has recently engaged with them and will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Greg Smith

Thursday 3rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

We heard earlier about our great success in opening up new beef and lamb markets around the world. Earlier this year the Government backed a strategy launched by the NFU to increase agricultural exports by 30% through a 10-point plan. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the Government will continue to work with the NFU to land that 10-point plan to grow British agricultural exports?

[Kemi Badenoch]

Yes, I am very happy to continue working with the NFU. We, of course, have our own 12-point export strategy plan; I am sure that there is a lot of overlap between the two, but we are all trying to get to the same place, and I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend on that.