Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25524 on UK International Consumer Centre, if he will place a copy of the agreement referenced in the Commons Library.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I regret that the grant funding agreement cannot be submitted to the Commons Library. Grant letters and details are commercially sensitive for both the parties.
Releasing these details would, or would be likely to, prejudice the interests of those concerned by damaging the confidence which customers, suppliers or investors have, threatening their ability to obtain supplies or secure finance, and potentially weakening their position in a competitive environment by revealing market-sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to others such as its competitors.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what contracts (a) BFS Group Limited and (b) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited hold with (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I can confirm that the Department does not hold any contracts with BFS Group ltd or any of its subsidiary companies. Likewise, the Department’s agencies also do not have any direct contracts with the company or its subsidiaries.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 adequacy of (a) funding and (b) staffing capacity for the UK International Consumer Centre.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government funds the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to deliver the UK International Consumer Centre. The funding agreement for the current financial year is £456,000. This figure is reviewed annually and agreed with the CTSI each year alongside an agreement over what is to be delivered. The Centre provides information, advice and
assistance to consumers in the UK who are experiencing difficulties resolving disputes with traders based outside the UK.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Section 132 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, whether any employers' associations maintain a political fund.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Unincorporated employers’ associations are able to maintain a political fund in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. None currently maintain a political fund.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21859, on Flexible Working Taskforce, on what dates that taskforce met in each year from 2018 to 2022.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Flexible Working Taskforce met on fourteen occasions between 2018 and 2022.
The dates of these meetings were:
29 March 2018; 09 May 2018; 11 July 2018; 12 September 2018; 16 November 2018; 16 January 2019; 27 March 2019; 02 July 2019; 22 September 2020; 14 April 2021; 27 April 2021; 07 July 2021; 13 October 2021; 07 February 2022.
The Government is committed to regular engagement with stakeholders on the topic of flexible working and other related issues.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20334 on Flexible Working, on what dates the Flexible Working Taskforce met in 2023.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Flexible Working Taskforce met once in 2023, on April 24th. The government has continued to engage with stakeholders on a regular basis to discuss flexible working and related issues.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 potential implications for his Department's policies of the Office for Statistics Regulation's publication entitled OSR’s statement on the Labour Force Survey-derived estimates and Annual Population Survey-derived estimates, published on 12 December 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Putting the best evidence at the heart of policy development is critical to achieving the Department’s objective of supporting businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
The Department has been engaging with the Office for Statistics Regulation on quality concerns with the Labour Force Survey, so have noted their statement and welcome the clarity it provides. We will continue to work closely with the OSR and the ONS on their next steps to ensure that our labour market data is as strong as possible.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which organisations are represented on his Department's Flexible Working Taskforce; and on what dates that taskforce has met.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Flexible Working Taskforce last met on 26 Jan 2024. It was comprised of business groups, charities and trade unions and was co-chaired by the Chartered Institute for Professional Development (CIPD) and the government. It met at regular intervals between 2018 and 2024.
The Government is committed to engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that policy works for businesses, workers, and the wider economy. That is why we continue to meet with stakeholders on a regular basis to discuss flexible working and related issues.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of producing impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The publication of Impact Assessments for the Employment Rights Bill meets our requirements under the Better Regulation Framework to provide analysis of the impacts on businesses, households, and the wider economy. This is important to support ministerial decision making, enable parliamentary scrutiny and ensure transparency.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not routinely collate information on the specific departmental cost of producing impact assessments. Information on civil servants employed by DBT and payroll data are available at: DBT’s headcount and payroll data for March 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10062 on Animal Welfare: Fireworks, what the Government’s planned timetable is for reviewing the existing policy.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.
The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.