Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what the total Official Development Assistance expenditure by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade was in financial year 2025/26; and if they will provide a table detailing the specific programme names, budget line items, and individual spending figures for that period.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure is reported on a calendar year rather than financial year basis. There was no ODA expenditure by the former Department for Business and Trade in 2025. The former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology reported preliminary ODA expenditure of £199.0 million for 2025 in its 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts. The final figure, including analysis of spend, was published by the FCDO in September 2026 here: Statistics on International Development.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Government-backed financial support for Jaguar Land Rover on small and medium-sized businesses in its supply chain.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year, Government backed Jaguar Land Rover with a partial guarantee for a commercial loan of £1.5bn through UK Export Finance, to help JLR unlock commercial financing and ensure liquidity while operations were restored following a cyber-attack.
We continue to work with industry to strengthen the resilience of the UK automotive supply chain. As part of this, the DRIVE35-funded Suppliers Readiness and Transformation Programme, delivered in partnership with the North-East and West Midlands Metro Mayors, has allocated up to £50 million per region to support locally critical components and capabilities.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized automotive suppliers in the West Midlands diversify their customer base.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our modern Industrial Strategy launched DRIVE35, the largest government investment in the automotive industry of the post-war era.
Through DRIVE35, we are working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including the West Midlands, to strengthen the UK's automotive manufacturing base and build competitive industrial clusters and resilient regional supply chains.
The DRIVE35 Supplier Readiness and Transformation (SRT) programme has invested up to £100 million in the North East and West Midlands to accelerate supply-chain growth and EV readiness. It offers grants to help West Midlands automotive suppliers scale, diversify and build critical EV supply-chain capacity.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of Government financial support available to small and medium-sized businesses in Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain affected by production disruption.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year, Government backed Jaguar Land Rover with a partial guarantee for a commercial loan of £1.5bn through UK Export Finance, to help JLR unlock commercial financing and ensure liquidity while operations were restored following a cyber-attack.
We are working with industry to strengthen the resilience of the UK automotive supply chain and since the cyber-attack we have introduced a new supply chain programme. The DRIVE35 funded Suppliers Readiness and Transformation Programme, delivered in partnership with the Northeast and West Midlands Metro Mayors, has allocated up to £50 million per region to support locally critical components and capabilities.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the options for a right to guaranteed hours referred to in the Regulatory Policy Committee’s opinion, published on 14 August 2026, on small businesses and employers with seasonal and unpredictable demand; and whether his Department plans to consider measures to mitigate that potential impact.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has published a robust assessment of the potential impacts of the right to guaranteed hours on businesses of all sizes, with additional analysis on those subject to seasonal and unpredictable demand.
The government is carefully considering responses to a 12-week consultation and will take account of all representations and evidence in designing an approach to guaranteed hours that works for workers and employers.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether the Government plans to introduce binding requirements for developers of the most powerful AI models, in the context of reports concerning the availability of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5.1 model for UK pre-release testing and statements by frontier AI developers over the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The UK is a world leader in AI security, and the AI Security Institute continues to work closely with the US government, international partners and leading AI companies, including Anthropic.
We are taking a context-based approach to AI regulation, meaning that most AI systems are regulated at the point of use by our existing expert regulators. However, we should not assume that this regulatory framework will always be sufficient as AI capabilities continue to develop. Any future measures we may take will be evidence-based and focused on the risks we need to address.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what methodology he uses to assess the employment impact of proposed data centres; whether published employment estimates distinguish between temporary construction roles and permanent operational jobs; and what estimate his Department has made of the average number of permanent jobs created per hectare of land occupied by new data-centre developments.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Data centres are an enabling industry that supports employment, investment and economic growth across the UK. Data centres have been designated CNI which reflects their importance to the secure operation of digital services relied upon by businesses, public services and households. TechUK estimates that the sector supports 43,500 jobs, contributes £4.7 billion in annual GVA and generates £640 million in tax revenue. Each operational job may support a further 1.4 to 2.5 jobs across the economy.
The Government continues to work with industry to maximise local employment, skills and community benefits from new data centre developments.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether receipt of (i) support and (ii) priority access to an electricity-grid connection by a data-centre development will be conditional on compliance with minimum standards for (a) energy efficiency, (b) water efficiency, (c) the use of low-carbon electricity, (d) demand flexibility and (e) the recovery and reuse of waste heat.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of the UK's data centre sector reflecting their critical importance to the economy, public services and national security. A limited number of strategically important data centres may be supported through the Connections Accelerator Service (CAS) subject to the CAS Project Selection Process. The selection process includes due diligence from DBIST and an evaluation of the project alignment to government priorities including economic growth, jobs and net zero objectives. CAS provides enhanced engagement with network companies to identify opportunities to accelerate connections where possible, but it does not guarantee an earlier connection date.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the cumulative effect on UK downstream manufacturers of (a) the 50 per cent out-of-quota tariff applying under the steel trade measure introduced on 1 July 2026 and (b) existing anti-dumping duties on imports of corrosion-resistant steel and welded steel tubes originating in China; and whether he will publish that assessment.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The steel trade measure strikes a balance between securing the future of UK steel production and the impact on steel-using industries. The Government took, trade flows and existing trade remedies on relevant steel products into account when designing the measure. Explanatory Memoranda published alongside the legislation implementing the measure set out the expected impacts across the supply chain.
The TRA concluded both reviews referred to in March 2025 and August 2026 respectively, publishing their findings online. Neither included an assessment of the steel trade measure as there was either no data or insufficient data available. Existing trade remedy measures can also be reviewed if industry or the TRA believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant doing so.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the availability from UK producers of the grades and specifications of aluminised steel coil and tube used by downstream manufacturers; and if he will establish a process through which businesses can seek an exclusion, product-specific quota or other relief where an equivalent product is not manufactured in the UK in sufficient quantities.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The measure will apply only to product categories that can be made in the UK. In some instances, product codes contain both steel products that can and cannot be made domestically for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow availability of these goods without unnecessary additional costs. Explanatory Memoranda published alongside the implementing legislation set out the expected impacts across the supply chain. We are closely monitoring the impacts, will continue to engage with businesses, and will review the full measure after 12 months.