Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who have the legal right to work in the UK but are unable to access employment in their qualified profession due to regulatory or accreditation barriers; and what steps his Department is taking to help reduce this number.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Decisions regarding an individual's professional recognition are made and recorded by independent regulators. Data related to the number of individuals who have the legal right to work in the UK but are unable to due to regulatory or accreditation barriers is therefore not collected by the Department.
As we said in the industrial and trade strategies, the department is currently working with regulators to prioritise the recognition of professional qualifications with international partners to support the UK's economic growth and labour market.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with Companies House on recent increases to their fees.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The recent adjustments to the fees, which came into effect on 1 February 2026, were determined following detailed modelling of budgetary requirements by Companies House to support the delivery of priorities set by this government. There was extensive dialogue between the Department and Companies House in deciding the fee levels. These changes are intended to maintain high standards of service and ensure that Companies House and the Insolvency Service are appropriately resourced to fulfil their functions.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to enable banking hubs to offer postal services.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Department for Business and Trade continues to engage with His Majesty's Treasury on the Government’s commitment to roll out 350 banking hubs. Banking hubs are a voluntary service which were developed by the financial services sector to protect access to cash under the Financial Services Act 2023. Their rollout is overseen by Cash Access UK and funded by the banks for the purpose of coordinating banking hub delivery.
The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, Post Office delivers essential services, including banking and cash services, within local reach of all citizens.