Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS staff are not able to falsely certify documents later used in applications for a Mental Health Breathing Space.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Access to Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space can only be started if an Approved Mental Health Professional confirms that the individual is receiving mental health crisis treatment. The debt adviser must also seek confirmation from a nominated point of contact every 30 days that the individual is still receiving eligible mental health crisis treatment in order for the individual to continue to receive the moratorium’s protections.
With regard to National Health Service staff, regulators set standards of conduct that regulated health professionals must uphold. These already emphasise the importance of good record keeping. Falsifying patient records could be considered serious misconduct and may lead to a professional's registration being restricted or revoked.
We continue to keep the Breathing Space Scheme under review to ensure it is operating as intended.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data his Department holds on the number of UK firms utilising preferential tariff rates under the UK–Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not centrally hold any data on the number of UK firms utilising preferential tariff rates under the UK–Australia Free Trade Agreement.
The Department holds data on the UK’s utilisation of tariff preferences for imports and exports under preferential trade agreements. However, this data only contains value of trade flows using different import regimes and no information related to firms.
Between June 2023 and December 2024, 65% of eligible goods imports into Australia from the UK made use of an FTA tariff preference and 77% of eligible goods imports into the UK from Australia made use of FTA tariff preferences.
Source: Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee Statement - GOV.UK
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the time taken by UK firms to complete export documentation compared with firms in other OECD countries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of the administrative burden of import and export declarations for trade between Great Britain and the European Union are published at the following link: Estimating the customs administrative burden of 2022 declarations - GOV.UK.
No direct comparisons are available with other OECD countries due to the limited amount of information published.
HMRC is committed to making customs processes as simple as possible while ensuring effective checks are in place at the border, and we continue to work closely with the border industry to streamline processes and support the flow of legitimate goods.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the UK’s ability to conclude mutual recognition agreements for professional qualifications with priority trade partners.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to improving recognition of professional qualifications with key trading partners. The Government is actively encouraging and supporting the UK’s regulators through guidance on recognition arrangements and targeted funding, to work with their overseas counterparts. This has led to mutual recognition agreements in high value sectors, such as for audit qualifications with Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 capacity of the UK’s digital trade infrastructure to support increased trade volumes predicted for the next decade.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Trade Strategy committed the UK to remaining at the forefront of harnessing technology to make the most of the opportunities of digital trade. In addition to negotiating FTA chapters, we are developing the policy infrastructure for digital trade through a programme of digital trade agreements. We are also piloting Digital Trade Corridors with key European markets to improve industry adoption of digital trade processes. The Government is also working with business and international partners to ensure we have the right infrastructure to support trade, exploring further customs digitalisation, and the potential for modernising the way businesses interact with customs.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 support UK participation in the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The WTO Agreement on E Commernce (ECA) is the first global digital trade agreement that will make trade faster, cheaper, fairer, and more secure. The UK is an active and supportive participant of the Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce (JSI). In July 2024, following five years of JSI negotiations, the UK joined the resulting plurilateral WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce (ECA) as a founding Member, alongside 70 other countries. The number of participants to the Agreement has now risen to 72. The UK is working closely with other WTO Members to give legal effect to the ECA as soon as possible.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 impact of delaying the publication of the steel strategy on (a) private sector investment decisions and (b) decarbonisation timelines at the Scunthorpe steelworks.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global overcapacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June 2026 to protect our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. There is no statutory 30-day consultation period linked to the safeguard’s expiry. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026, ahead of the expiration of the safeguard.
Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final steel strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy. Throughout development of the strategy we have worked closely with Steel Council members as well as the full supply chain through our consultation and ministerial roundtables. Whilst we envisioned publishing the strategy in 2025, we do not anticipate any adverse impacts on private sector decision-making arising from the revised publication timing. We are determined to get this right and secure a steel sector that is fit for the future.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which external stakeholders (a) have been consulted to date and (b) remain to be consulted prior to the publication of the steel strategy in 2026.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global overcapacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June 2026 to protect our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. There is no statutory 30-day consultation period linked to the safeguard’s expiry. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026, ahead of the expiration of the safeguard.
Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final steel strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy. Throughout development of the strategy we have worked closely with Steel Council members as well as the full supply chain through our consultation and ministerial roundtables. Whilst we envisioned publishing the strategy in 2025, we do not anticipate any adverse impacts on private sector decision-making arising from the revised publication timing. We are determined to get this right and secure a steel sector that is fit for the future.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the steel strategy will be published before the statutory 30-day consultation period required for any potential changes to the UK steel trade remedies framework expiring in 2026.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global overcapacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June 2026 to protect our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. There is no statutory 30-day consultation period linked to the safeguard’s expiry. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026, ahead of the expiration of the safeguard.
Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final steel strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy. Throughout development of the strategy we have worked closely with Steel Council members as well as the full supply chain through our consultation and ministerial roundtables. Whilst we envisioned publishing the strategy in 2025, we do not anticipate any adverse impacts on private sector decision-making arising from the revised publication timing. We are determined to get this right and secure a steel sector that is fit for the future.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his Department's original planned publication date was for the steel strategy; and for what reason the publication of that strategy has been rescheduled to early 2026.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global overcapacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring in June 2026 to protect our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. There is no statutory 30-day consultation period linked to the safeguard’s expiry. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026, ahead of the expiration of the safeguard.
Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with industry, trade unions and the Devolved Governments to ensure the final steel strategy delivers for businesses, steelworkers and the wider UK economy. Throughout development of the strategy we have worked closely with Steel Council members as well as the full supply chain through our consultation and ministerial roundtables. Whilst we envisioned publishing the strategy in 2025, we do not anticipate any adverse impacts on private sector decision-making arising from the revised publication timing. We are determined to get this right and secure a steel sector that is fit for the future.