Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to UK Export Finance was in 2024–25 of expanding its climate stress testing models and scenarios using Network for Greening the Financial System scenarios; what the estimated cost of this work was to the public purse; and whether an estimate has been made of the resulting compliance or financing costs on UK exporters and suppliers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The work to update UKEF’s climate stress testing models in 2024-25 is in line with industry good practice on financial risk management and uses tools at no extra cost. This work is part of our ongoing responsibilities to meet government risk management requirements and was carried out by UKEF staff within existing resources. As this is an internal risk management exercise, it does not create compliance obligations or financing costs for UK exporters or suppliers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108798 what the British Business Bank’s total programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services costs were in 2024–25, broken down by programme or business line.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank’s total staffing costs in 2024-25 were £71.591 million. In the same year, the BBB incurred total expenditure of £26.456 million on professional fees. These comprise fees relating to investment scheme design and transactions and other operational professional services.
A breakdown by business line is provided below, taken from the British Business Bank’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
All figures in £ '000 | Staff costs | Professional services |
British Business Finance | 2,089 | 186 |
British Business Investments | 2,588 | 3,157 |
British Patient Capital | 4,616 | 643 |
Nations and Regions Investments | 1,283 | 16 |
Start Up Loans | 4,100 | 253 |
BBB Investment Services | 169 | 17 |
Company plc, Holdings and British Business Financial Services | 56,746 | 22,184 |
Total group | 71,591 | 26,456 |
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107769, what estimate he has made to the Insolvency Service of compliance with Net Zero, sustainability and climate-related disclosure requirements.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have made no such assessment, however the Insolvency Service’s total emissions have been reported in the Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts since 2012/13. Progress on wider sustainability requirements is reported quarterly to the Department for Business and Trade through the Agency’s Greening Government Commitment (GGC) returns. The Agency adheres to the Greening Government Commitments and the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidance.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to UK Export Finance was of mitigating operational emissions arising from (a) its office footprint and b) business travel in 2024-25.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UKEF’s office footprint is managed by the Government Property Agency, which is responsible for the provision of all energy and utility services. UKEF mitigates operational emissions arising from business travel through policies to reduce the cost of business travel; these measures do not place additional costs on UKEF.
Full details regarding expenditure on UKEF’s office footprint and business travel for 2024-25 can be found in the UK Export Finance Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what funding his Department allocated for the development of its planned Net Zero strategy and action plan, including staffing and consultancy costs in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Separate funding for the department's corporate sustainability activity, including net zero strategy and action planning, is not allocated. The associated work is dispersed across several functions and it is not possible to identify the cost of this. No consultancy costs have been funded or incurred in the 2025/26 financial year to date.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department's steel strategy will be published.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is developing a Steel Strategy to be published in early 2026 that will set out a long-term vision for a bright and sustainable steel sector in the UK and the actions needed to get there.
The strategy will articulate what is needed to create a competitive business environment in the UK with the aim of attracting new private investment to secure and expand UK steelmaking capability and capacity which is aligned with our Net Zero goals.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to UK Export Finance was in 2024–25 of policies, programme changes, due-diligence requirements or staffing linked to net zero, climate or sustainability objectives.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Full details of the activities undertaken by UK Export Finance (UKEF) relating to net zero, climate or sustainability objectives can be found in the UK Export Finance Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the Competition and Markets Authority was in 2024–25 of work related to net zero, sustainability or climate policy, including staff time, research, guidance and enforcement activity.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The data recorded by the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) enables it to track costs across the projects it undertakes and the functions it performs. However, it is not able from this data to accurately estimate the costs incurred in relation to thematic areas such as net zero, sustainability or climate policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost was of his Department's initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions in 2024–25, including behavioural programmes, reporting systems and policy compliance activity.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Records are not held that identify the cost of the Department's initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions including behavioural programmes, reporting systems and policy compliance activity.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total cost to the British Business Bank was in 2024–25 of policies, programmes and staffing related to net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy, broken down by a) programme expenditure, b) staffing costs and c) consultancy and professional services.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank does not record or allocate its costs based on thematic categories such as net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy. Its programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services are managed and reported with reference to the programme or business line to which they relate, rather than by policy objective.
For this reason, the Bank is not in a position to provide a breakdown of costs for the year 2024–25 in the format requested.