Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value is of tariff duties the UK has avoided on its goods exports through the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal and any related updates to this agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK goods exports to the US amounted to £63 billion in the 12 months to the end of September 2025.
Thanks to the Economic Prosperity Deal, the UK has secured 0% tariffs for the aerospace sector, preferential 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium and cut automotive tariffs to 10% within quota, protecting industries that export tens of billions to the US. The UK has also secured 0% tariffs for the pharmaceutical sector.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his Department expects the impact to be on UK GDP from an upgraded UK-Republic of Turkey agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is too soon to presume on the final outcomes of FTA negotiations; we are making strong progress with a fourth negotiation round scheduled next month.
Turkey is an important trading partner for the UK, with bilateral trade worth £28 billion in the 12 months to September 2025, doubling in current prices over the past decade. The current agreement ensures tariff free trade on over 99% of goods but does not include any services provisions. This new deal will focus on the UK’s strengths in services, which account for 81% of GDP.
Once an upgraded UK–Turkey FTA is signed we will publish detailed information, alongside an impact assessment, including trade impacts.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the UK-US Technology Prosperity Deal has been suspended.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The United States is our close ally and tech partner, and we are committed to ensuring that bond delivers real benefits for hardworking people on both sides of the Atlantic.
We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as we can to achieve that and working together to help shape the emerging technologies of the future.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to reply to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North of 3 December 2025, reference LB49226.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department aims to respond to correspondence within 15 working days. I apologise for the delay in responding and can confirm a response was issued on 20 January 2026.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which (a) Department and (b) Minister have lead responsibility for the implementation of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal; and what (i) cross-government structures and (ii) processes are in place to coordinate its delivery.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has lead responsibility for implementation of the General Terms of the UK‑US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD), which sits within my Trade Policy portfolio, with overall oversight from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
Delivery of the EPD draws on expertise from across government. Coordination is led by the Department for Business and Trade, using established official and ministerial channels, supported by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to (a) support and (b) provide funding to the Pax Silica programme of the US Department of State.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK signed the Pax Silica Declaration in December 2025. The initiative is in its early stages, and no financial contribution has been made.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the increase in UK GDP will be from the upgraded UK-Republic of Korea agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The upgraded UK-Republic of Korea (RoK) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) guarantees permanent tariff-free access to 98% of RoK’s lines, ensuring £2 billion of UK goods exports at risk of additional duties can continue to benefit from reduced tariffs. New services provisions could also help increase UK services exports by £400 million annually in the long term.
Once the upgraded agreement is signed we will publish detailed analytical information, including trade impacts. As this is an upgraded FTA, we intend to use a New Quantitative Trade Model (NQTM) which will provide a more accurate overview of the upgraded FTA’s economic impact.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Employment Savings Trust pilot scheme of autoenrollment savings accounts.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Payroll savings schemes allow employees to save directly from their salary and are a proven way of helping people start and maintain a savings habit. Research from the National Employment Savings Trust demonstrates that payroll savings can effectively help people to save, particularly where behavioural support is put in place.
As part of the recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy, the Government has worked with partners to provide the clarity employers need to offer payroll savings options to their workforce. The Government also announced an ambitious National Coalition of Employers, which will further encourage uptake of payroll savings schemes among employers.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to my letter of the 4th of December 2025, reference LB46770,on the Birmingham pub bombings.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Security Minister will reply in due course.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025 sets out the Home Office settlement from HM Treasury. This includes the Home Office’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL), which are detailed in Table 5.4: Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL)(1) within Section 5. Departmental Settlements of the document Spending Review 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK.
The department is considering how the settlement will be allocated and further detail on allocation by spending areas for 2026-27 will be published during Q1 of 2026-27 as part of the Home Office Main Estimates memorandum.