Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of where he plans for the 41,000 new homes in the West Midlands to be built; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this matter.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In setting out how the Government will strengthen connections between and within city regions and clusters, the Industrial Strategy confirmed our commitment to delivering and maximising the growth benefits of HS2. The Industrial Strategy referenced independent research by Arcadis, conducted on behalf of HS2 Ltd, that suggests HS2 could lead to 41,000 new homes in the West Midlands. The source can be found at https://www.arcadis.com/en-gb/projects/europe/united-kingdom/hs2-impact-study.
The department has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government during the development of the Industrial Strategy and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with businesses on the S&P Global Flash UK PMI.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he made of the potential impact of delaying the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill’s provisions on unfair dismissal protections on levels of business confidence.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is no delay to implementation. On 1 July the Government published “Implementing the Employment Rights Bill: Roadmap”. It provides clarity for employers and workers on when Government will consult on the implementation of Bill measures, and when measures will take effect. Feedback from businesses is that this clarity has improved confidence. The Roadmap sets out our initial view that day one unfair dismissal protections will take effect in 2027, after regulations have been made and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has considered to what extent , to reflect day one rights in the Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 energy costs on energy intensive industries.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is well aware of the issue of high industrial energy costs, and the challenges that poses for Energy Intensive Industries (EII). That is why we continue to offer support to electro-intensives through the EII compensation scheme and the Supercharger.
We will also soon be consulting on an uplift of the Network Charges Compensation scheme.
The recent Industrial Strategy also committed to consulting on the establishment of a new support scheme, British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) which will exempt up to 7,000 businesses from some of policy costs included within electricity bills.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 help reduce industrial electricity prices.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is well aware of the issue of high industrial energy costs, and the challenges that poses for Energy Intensive Industries (EII). That is why we continue to offer support to electro-intensives through the EII compensation scheme and the Supercharger.
We will also soon be consulting on an uplift of the Network Charges Compensation scheme.
The recent Industrial Strategy also committed to consulting on the establishment of a new support scheme, British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) which will exempt up to 7,000 businesses from some of policy costs included within electricity bills.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to p.12 of The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 published on 23 June 2025, on what evidential basis his Department determined which business sectors have high potential.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Invest 2035 (published on GOV.UK in October 2024) identified 8 high-level 'growth driving' sectors (the IS-8): Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services. Pages 18-20 of the Invest 2035 green paper outline the methodology for identifying the IS-8 sectors.
The Technical Annex of the Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 (published on GOV.UK in June 2025) outlines the methodology for identifying the frontier industries within the IS-8 sectors.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he had with the Mayor of the West Midlands during the development of The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government is committed to working in partnership with Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) as part of delivering the Industrial Strategy's regional growth objective. We have engaged regularly with the West Midlands Combined Authority, at official and Mayoral level, to reflect and support its significant strengths in the Industrial Strategy and to coordinate local and national policies ahead of the publication of the West Midlands' forthcoming Local Growth Plan.
Regular engagement at Ministerial and official level will continue as we implement the Industrial Strategy, including the delivery of Sector Plans, which the government has committed to implement in partnership with MSAs.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 published on 23 June 2025, what plans he has to develop clusters of excellence in the West Midlands.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy highlights the West Midlands' strengths in all eight Industrial Strategy growth-driving sectors.
The Strategy's UK-wide measures will make it quicker and easier to do business, including in the West Midlands. Specific Industrial Strategy interventions for the West Midlands include devolved funding from the £150m Creative Places Growth Fund, a co-created Professional and Business Services Hub and exploring a pilot initiative for an Electric Vehicles manufacturing cluster. The West Midlands will also receive £30m through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, a British Business Bank Cluster Champion to coordinate investment and a strategic partnership with the National Wealth Fund.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025, which sectors in the West Midlands he consulted with during the development of the Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government engaged widely throughout the development of the Industrial Strategy, including with businesses, business representation organisations, and trade unions.
In the West Midlands, this included roundtables and discussions with businesses, engagement with the Midlands Engine Partnership, written consultation on our Green Paper Invest 2035 and close working with the West Midlands Mayoral Strategic Authority to understand the strengths and barriers to growth in the region. Additionally, the department's regionally based teams sought input from SME businesses across a range of sectors.
We will continue engaging widely throughout Industrial Strategy implementation.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 the Employment Rights Bill on (a) average wages and (b) inflation.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department has published a set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes con-sideration of impacts on wages and macro-economic impacts. This analysis is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments
This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts, including on wages and the wider economy, given the current stage of policy development. We are refining our analysis as policy development continues, working closely with external experts, businesses and trade unions.